Russian lab worker dies of suspected plague in Siberia; US monitoring case

A Russian anti-plague institute employee in the remote Siberian region of Irkutsk has reportedly died of a suspected pneumonic plague, according to a US official. The US CDC and other agencies are monitoring the situation closely, though many details remain unconfirmed. Buryatia's governor mentioned that a woman in Irkutsk may have died of the plague. The woman, identified as 28-year-old laboratory technician Darya Shipilova, is among nearly 200 people placed under medical observation.