WHO seeks answers from Russia over laboratory worker’s death amid plague concerns

A senior World Health Organization official said Wednesday that the agency did not know how a laboratory employee in Siberia had died, amid concerns surrounding plague.

The official called on Russia to provide more information about the woman’s death, leaving the circumstances unresolved.

The WHO’s stated uncertainty means the available account does not establish whether plague caused the death or how the employee may have been exposed.

Further details from Russia would be needed to clarify what happened and assess the concerns raised by the case.