Trump: We do not believe that the plague incident in a Russian laboratory is linked to a biological weapon

Russia denied on Tuesday the imposition of anti-plague measures after reports of the death of a laboratory employee at an institute to combat the disease, while Washington called on it to be "transparent" about the situation.

Anxiety prevailed after reports published on Friday of the death of 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, who worked at a plague institute in the Irkutsk region of Siberia, due to infection with the disease.

However, the authorities announced that the cause of death had not yet been determined, while the Russian Consumer Protection and Health Surveillance Agency "Rospotrebnadzor" denied a document circulated on the Internet that special health measures had been taken.

It said in a post on Telegram, "We would like to clarify that the document and the information mentioned did not come from official sources and are incorrect".

It added, "To date, no such decision has been made," noting that "the health situation is stable" in the Irkutsk region.

The People of Baikal news website reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources close to the security services in the region, that Shipilova may have contracted pneumonic plague due to a broken test tube.

Other media reported a possible link between her death and an incident in the laboratory at the facility.

However, Russian officials said that post-mortem examinations did not reveal the disease.

The People of Baikal website said that up to 200 people who may have been in contact with her were quarantined.