Did a Russian lab worker die from pneumonic plague? What we know - and don't know

Yes, plague — specifically, pneumonic plague.

Few details are confirmed. Russian authorities say there is currently no evidence that the illness was connected to any of the pathogens she worked with at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East.

But the governor of a neighbouring region fuelled speculation over the weekend when he posted on Telegram suggesting the woman had died of plague, later altering his comment to include "maybe."

People have been quarantined at the hospital where she died last week; many others who came in contact with her were put under medical supervision, according to Anna Popova, Russia's public health agency.

There are, however, questions about Russian authorities' transparency, along with general shock at the thought of someone dying from an illness associated with the Middle Ages — and that many don't realize still exists.