Global health officials continue to press Moscow for full transparency

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is investigating reports of a second possible pneumonic plague case in Siberia after the death of a laboratory worker who was allegedly exposed to the illness.

Global health officials are pushing Moscow for transparency following the death of 28-year-old laboratory technician Darya Shipilova at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov.

Shipilova was admitted to hospital late last month with acute respiratory failure and placed on a ventilator before passing away on 2 October.

Local media reported that she was exposed to a dangerous pathogen after accidentally shattering a sample tube during routine laboratory work.