A reported death at a Russian anti-plague laboratory has raised fresh questions about the risk of pneumonic plague and whether a laboratory accident could trigger wider health concerns.

While media reports suggested a technician in Siberia may have been infected after a broken test tube incident, Russian authorities say the cause of death remains unconfirmed and deny imposing emergency anti-plague measures.

Health experts stress that pneumonic plague can be deadly if untreated, but the WHOcurrently assesses the risk as low for Russia and very low for Europe, while calling for close monitoring and greater transparency.