Russia Denies Reports of Plague Death in Siberia

Moscow on Monday publicly dismissed media reports claiming that a laboratory technician in Siberia had died from plague. Russian officials stressed that a post-mortem medical examination did not identify the dangerous infectious disease as the cause of death.

The reports of a possible plague case involving a laboratory worker drew international attention, given that plague is considered one of the most dangerous infectious diseases, with historical outbreaks causing severe consequences. However, Russian officials on Monday firmly distanced themselves from this version of events, asserting that medical data does not support it.

It remains unclear what actually caused the woman's death, as this detail was not included in the available report. Similarly, it has not been specified in which Siberian region or institution the incident took place, nor which laboratory or agency was involved.

The Russian government's denial suggests an effort to quickly dispel concerns about a possible outbreak of a dangerous infection on its territory. The official position rests on the results of the post-mortem investigation, which, according to Moscow, did not confirm the initial media reports.

The question of why reports about plague initially circulated, and what their sources were, remains unanswered for now.