Kremlin denies second plague case at Siberian lab

The Kremlin denies reports of a second case of pneumonic plague at a Siberian laboratory, dismissing most media coverage as false. Unnamed Russian media and bloggers reported Wednesday that another person died from plague in Siberia, though no evidence supports this. Last Friday, a Russian news channel reported a woman may have died from plague contracted via a broken test tube at an Irkutsk region lab, with authorities yet to confirm the cause of death. The U.S., EU, and WHO have urged Russia to be transparent about the reported death. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked Moscow to clarify reports of a second employee with pneumonia of unknown cause. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov advised relying only on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor.