A plague research employee in Russia died from an unknown cause. Here's what we know

NPR | By Charles Maynes,

Leila Fadel

Published October 6, 2026 at 4:49 AM EDT

There are more questions than answers regarding the death of a plague research lab employee last week in Siberia. Here's what we do and don't know.

Charles Maynes

Leila Fadel

Leila Fadel is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.