Russian gov't downplays plague lab worker death; dozens quarantined

Dozens of people were reported to be in isolation after a Russian laboratory worker at an institute dedicated to studying the plague and other infectious diseases died of an undisclosed illness. The researcher, a 28-year-old female laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia, in the town of Shelekhov, died after being diagnosed with a pneumonia of “unknown” origin, according to Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian agency that handles infectious disease.

The World Health Organization says the public health risk is low, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he doesn't think there is cause for alarm. Rospotrebnadzor has played down the link between the death of the researcher — named in local media as Darya Shipilova — and her work. Nevertheless, the agency’s head, Anna Popova, traveled to the region on Friday, according to the local governor, Igor Kobzev, for what he described as an extraordinary meeting of the regional anti-epidemic commission.

0:00 Is there cause for alarm?
3:07 Minimal transparency from Russian officials
4:50 Why the World Health Organization should get involved
5:51 What is pneumonic plague?

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