Russian Scientist Dies In Lab Accident

A Russian researcher has died after sticking herself with a needle containing the deadly Ebola (news - web sites) virus, her organization said Tuesday. The accident occurred on May 5, when Antonina Presnyakova was conducting research on Ebola, a virus for which no vaccine or remedy exists, said Natalia Skultetskaya, a spokeswoman for the Vektor State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology outside Novosibirsk in central Siberia. Skultetskaya said that efforts to save Presnyakova failed and she died on May 19 at a special hospital located on the territory of the center. Research and medical personnel who were in contact with Presnyakova during her treatment will remain under medical observation for three weeks, she said in a telephone interview. Skultetskaya denied a report in The New York Times that the center was slow to inform the World Health Organization about the incident, reporting it only last week. She said the case was reported immediately to both the Russian Health Ministry and the WHO.