WHO asks Russia for details on suspected plague death in Siberia

The World Health Organization has demanded Russia provide information about reports of a second suspected Black Death plague death, following the death of a researcher in Siberia. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus requested clarification on the cause of severe pneumonia and media reports of a second ill employee. The initial death was Darya Shipilova, 28, who reportedly broke a test tube containing live Yersinia pestis bacteria at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute. Russian authorities have launched containment efforts, including closing medical centers and isolating nearly 200 contacts, while the health regulator Rospotrebnadzor denies any epidemic risk to the public. The Black Death pandemic killed an estimated 50 million people in Europe between 1346 and 1353. Yersinia pestis is spread by wild rodents and fleas, and the disease is believed to have originated in Central Asia before spreading globally through trade routes.