A view of the Medical Assistance and Rescue Centre, an infectious diseases hospital, in the town of Shelekhov in the Irkutsk region, Russia, October 5, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

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

· Yahoo News

MOSCOW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - 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.

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She ​added that ​about 60% of those placed under quarantine had already been ​released.

(Reporting by ‌Vladimir Soldatkin, Anastasia Lyrchikova and ​Andrew OsbornWriting by Maxim RodionovEditing ​by Andrew Osborn )