US presses Russia for data after suspected pneumonic plague death in Siberia

The suspected pneumonic plague death of a Siberian laboratory technician has triggered a hospital quarantine and US calls for Russian data on the case.

• Darya Shipilova, 28, a lab technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, died in the city of Shelekhov after a suspected pneumonic plague infection.
• Russian authorities quarantined a local hospital and placed roughly 200 of her contacts under medical observation.
• A US State Department official said Washington is monitoring the case with the CDC and urged Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly.
• Russia's Rospotrebnadzor said the employee was diagnosed with "pneumonia of unknown aetiology" and tests found no microorganisms tied to her work.
• Shipilova reportedly told medical staff she accidentally broke a test tube containing live bacteria during a research trip near the Mongolian border.
• Irkutsk's governor cancelled all public events in the region after the researcher's suspected plague death.
• The WHO is monitoring the case and assesses the public health risk as low.