Russia found no plague cases after Siberian lab worker’s death

Russian health authorities said testing found no plague cases among people who had contact with a laboratory worker who died last week in Siberia, easing fears of a pneumonic plague outbreak tied to an anti-plague research institute. Rospotrebnadzor said the 28-year-old woman died of pneumonia of undetermined origin and that postmortem tests found no microorganisms linked to her work at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and Far East. Officials said contacts were placed under medical observation, with local media reporting about 200 people were quarantined. The World Health Organization said Russia told it no recent plague cases had been recorded in Irkutsk, but also called for timely, complete and transparent information as conflicting official accounts fueled concern.