1 dead, 200 under observation at Russian plague research lab

A researcher has reportedly died at a Russian plague laboratory

from an "unknown" infection, with the Moscow Times reporting

some 200 individuals are currently under observation.

According to Russia state media outlet TASS, the leak happened at the Anti-Plague Research Institute

in Shelekhov near the city of Irkutsk in southern Siberia,

bordering Mongolia.

The government agency that handles infectious disease is said

to be unclear on details of the infection.

The researcher reportedly died Friday, according to the Moscow Times,

with other Russian media reporting the 28-year-old woman was

exposed to a broken test tube containing pneumonic plague pathogen.