Russia denies second infection in suspected plague case in Siberia

Russia's public health watchdog denied Thursday that a lab worker who died in Siberia had infected another person, amid global concerns about suspected pneumonic plague. The agency dismissed reports of a second illness as fake. Rospotrebnadzor said the worker at a plague research institute in Irkutsk died of pneumonia of unknown origin, with extensive testing finding no evidence of pathogens she worked with. It informed the World Health Organization that no plague case has been registered in the region. The WHO said it doesn't know what caused the Oct. 2 death and has requested more information. Russian authorities have kept details secret, with state media largely avoiding the subject and some outlets withdrawing earlier reports.