New Delhi, Oct. 8 -- Hundreds of people in Siberia have been quarantined after a laboratory worker at a plague research institute died in undisclosed circumstances on Friday. A Russian news outlet reported the woman may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube, a narrative that Russian health authorities have denied.

As global health bodies and governments seek more information, Russia has said that the worker's death does not risk an epidemic in Siberia. However, public health experts are vigilant, given the limited information available.

Mint explains the situation, how global authorities have responded, and whether there is cause for worry.

Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague R...