Plague institute worker's death in Siberia triggers quarantine of dozens

A laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Siberia died under undisclosed circumstances, prompting authorities to quarantine dozens of contacts and Russia's health watchdog chief to fly to the Irkutsk region. The World Health Organization said the public health risk appears low. The 28-year-old woman, identified by local media as Darya Shipilova, died of pneumonia of unknown origin, according to authorities. About 200 contacts were quarantined, and officials found two COVID cases and two rhinovirus cases among them, with no other infectious diseases reported. Plague is endemic to Siberia, though human cases are rare in Russia. The institute found no evidence of pathogen-handling accidents, and authorities urged calm, saying no new cases have been identified among staff.