Roughly 200 people are under medical observation, several hospitals are under quarantine, and dozens are in isolation in Russia following the unexplained death of an infectious disease researcher at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia, in the town of Shelekhov, according to early reports of the situation on Sunday and Monday.

Researcher Darya Shipilova reportedly died last week from pneumonia of "unknown" cause, according to Rospotrebnadzor, a Russian public health agency.

Unconfirmed information regarding her death has swirled. Some reports have claimed she accidentally broke a test tube containing the plague pathogen, Yersinia pestis, on September 25. She subsequently fell ill, was admitted to a hospital September 29 with severe pneumonia and died overnight between October 1 and October 2.  The head of the Russian region that neighbors Irkutsk, Alexey Tsydenov, initially reported that she had died of plague but later altered his statement to say she "possibly" died of the disease.

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The country’s consumer watchdog has said only that “an employee of an anti-plague institute in the Irkutsk Region” contracted pneumonia. Rumors and unconfirmed reports sounded a more ominous note.

© Reuters

The country’s consumer watchdog has said only that “an employee of an anti-plague institute in the Irkutsk Region” contracted pneumonia. Rumors and unconfirmed reports sounded a more ominous note.

© Reuters

A treaty from the 1960s declared that nobody can own outer space. Half a century later, billionaires and superpowers see fortunes to be made nonetheless.

© NASA

As Ukraine increasingly takes the war to Russia, the effects may be most visible on the roads.

© Pavel Bednyakov/Associated Press

The United States wants a reactor on the moon by 2030. A Russian-Chinese alliance is working on one for 2036. Some leading scientists say the danger is great.

© NASA

A treaty from the 1960s declared that nobody can own outer space. Half a century later, billionaires and superpowers see fortunes to be made nonetheless.

© NASA

As Ukraine increasingly takes the war to Russia, the effects may be most visible on the roads.

© Pavel Bednyakov/Associated Press

As Ukraine increasingly takes the war to Russia, the effects may be most visible on the roads.

© Pavel Bednyakov/Associated Press

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The United States wants a reactor on the moon by 2030. A Russian-Chinese alliance is working on one for 2036. Some leading scientists say the danger is great.

© NASA

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© Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

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© Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

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© Anastasia Barashkova/Reuters

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© Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times

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© Genya Savilov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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© Genya Savilov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Russians are creating and spreading music glorifying the invasion of Ukraine, using platforms built in the United States.

© Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times

Russians are creating and spreading music glorifying the invasion of Ukraine, using platforms built in the United States.

© Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times

Russians are creating and spreading music glorifying the invasion of Ukraine, using platforms built in the United States.

© Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times