Russia says no plague cases have been detected among contacts of deceased lab worker

Russia's ​health watchdog said on ​Tuesday that ‌no cases ​of plague had been detected among people who had ‌come into contact with a Siberian plague institute laboratory worker who died on Friday. Rospotrebnadzor, the ‌watchdog, said in a statement that ‌no infectious diseases had been reported among the staff of the same plague research institute in Irkutsk ⁠over ​the ⁠past 10 days and that extensive testing had found ⁠no microorganisms in the deceased woman's body linked ​to her work.

Elena Sofina, deputy head of ⁠the Shelekhov district near Irkutsk, where a local ⁠hospital ​was placed under quarantine, said that a dangerous diagnosis had not been confirmed. She ⁠added that about 60% of those placed ⁠under ⁠quarantine had already been released.