Lab worker dies in Russia; 200 quarantined after suspected plague case

A laboratory technician in Russia's Irkutsk region has died from a suspected case of pneumonic plague, prompting quarantine of around 200 people who may have had contact with her. The cause of death remains unconfirmed by officials. The 28-year-old woman, identified as Darya Shipilova, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute and may have contracted the infection after a test tube broke. Russia's Rospotrebnadzor described the case as "pneumonia of unknown aetiology," while the disease can be fatal if untreated and is highly infectious. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev urged residents to remain calm after an emergency meeting, and additional precautions were introduced near Shelekhov. The US State Department is monitoring the case with the CDC and called on Russia to provide more precise information.