After reports that a lab technician's death was possibly linked to pneumonic plague in Russia, U.S. officials said they are closely watching the situation.
The lab technician is a 28-year-old woman who worked at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, which was set up in the 1930s as an anti-plague body and later expanded its scope to other highly dangerous diseases. The woman died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of "unknown" origin, according to the public health agency, Rospotrebnadzor.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday morning that Russian officials had shared some information about an infected lab worker and their concerns that other Russians could be affected.
"There's very limited travel between the U.S. and Russia, obviously, but … if something like that gets out, it could quickly spread," said Rubio, who added that he didn't think it was cause for alarm. "We're watching and monitoring it closely."

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