A Russian scientist has died and nearly 200 people are under medical observation as the White House monitors a suspected pneumonic plague outbreak, because apparently the universe looked at the current news cycle and said, "Hold my beer."

Russia has not confirmed that the worker died of pneumonic plague, attributing the death instead to pneumonia of unknown origin - a phrase that inspires exactly zero confidence when the deceased reportedly worked at an anti-plague institute and broke a test tube containing pneumonic plague pathogens. The case has prompted calls for more transparency from Moscow, a request historically met with the same enthusiasm as a dentist appointment.

For those unfamiliar, pneumonic plague is caused when the bacterium Yersinia pestis - the same charming microbe behind the plague - enters the lungs. It is the only form of the plague that can spread person to person through bacteria-containing droplets in the air, which is the sort of detail you'd rather learn about in a history book than a news alert.

It can also develop when someone has bubonic or septicemic plague - caused by flea bites or contact with bacteria-containing bodily fluid or tissue - and the infection spreads to the lungs. So, a few paths to the same unpleasant destination.

Symptoms include weakness, headache, fever, chills, body aches, nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath, and a bloody or watery cough. They appear one to four days after exposure and worsen quickly. Without treatment, pneumonic plague is almost always fatal. With antibiotics, however, there's hope - but timing is everything. Beginning treatment within 24 hours of developing symptoms gives the best chance of survival, making "wait and see" a spectacularly bad strategy.

Both bubonic and pneumonic plague are caused by Yersinia pestis. The difference lies in what part of the body is infected: bubonic plague strikes the lymph nodes, while pneumonic plague goes for the lungs. Bubonic plague is more common, with cases still reported each year in the U.S., but pneumonic plague is the more serious of the two. The infamous Black Death, which wiped out more than a third of the European population in the 1300s, is attributed primarily to the bubonic plague - a historical footnote that does not make anyone feel better right now.

Russia has quarantined several healthcare facilities and is monitoring nearly 200 people who came into contact with the woman. Because nothing says "we have this under control" like a quarantine and a 200-person observation list.