NO SYMPTOMS OF PLAGUE INFECTION REPORTED IN SIBERIA

GENEVA, OCTOBER 6 /SRNA-Reuters/ - Russian authorities have identified all people who had contact with a laboratory worker who died at a plague research institute in Siberia, and there are no indications that the disease is spreading, World Health Organization /WHO/ spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said.

"All contacts of the patient have reportedly been identified and are being monitored for the disease, and no one has shown any symptoms of illness so far," Lindmeier said.

He added that Russian authorities, which have not yet officially responded to the WHO’s request for information, are investigating whether pneumonic plague was the cause of her death.

Russian authorities previously reported that the worker had died from an unknown respiratory illness.

Media reports said she may have contracted plague in the laboratory when a test tube accidentally fell on her.