White House monitors suspected plague death, quarantines in Russia

A 28-year-old researcher at an anti-plague institute in Russia's Irkutsk region, Daria Shipilova, died between Oct. 1-2 after being hospitalized with severe pneumonia. Russian authorities said she had "pneumonia of unknown etiology" and have not confirmed plague. She reportedly broke a test tube containing pneumonic plague pathogen on Sept. 25. Nearly 200 contacts are under medical observation; officials say none show symptoms. The White House says it is monitoring the situation.