Health & Environment
Woman dies of pneumonic plague in Russia's Siberian Irkutsk region
The Hindu2h
THE BRIEF
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A 28-year-old laboratory technician named Darya Shipilova died of pneumonic plague in Russia's remote Siberian region of Irkutsk, regional governor Alexei Tsydenov confirmed.
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Local reports indicated she worked for the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute and may have contracted the infectious bacterial disease via a broken test tube, placing roughly 200 contacts under quarantine.
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The World Health Organization notes that pneumonic plague is highly infectious and can prove fatal if treatment is not administered early, though Russia's health ministry issued no immediate statement.