| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
Chief State Health Inspector Rushes to Fight Hepatitis
In Nizhni Novgorod, they are still unable to localize the outbreak of viral hepatitis type A. As much as 638 patients have been hospitalized to-date, the number is growing 20 percent daily. Although no causes of the outbreak have been announced officially, chief state health inspector Gennady Onishchenko attributes the disease to tap water consumption.
At the last count, 638 people, including 129 children, are in the Nizhni Novgorod hospitals now, hepatitis A diagnosis. “The number of diseased is growing by more than 20 percent each day,” representatives of Rospotrebnadzor said.
In a battle against hepatitis, Nizhni Novgorod has carried out hyperchlorination for municipal water distribution systems. Mass vaccination is underway.
Chief state health inspector of Russia, Gennady Onishchenko arrived in Nizhni Novgorod past Friday. Onishchenko said though the city’s authorities act “adequately,” the decline will hardly occur before late next week. “Such outbreaks don’t end fast: it is not salmonella, when a source could be spotted and liquidated in no time. No one knows how many other people could be infected by hepatitis A.”
Similar to local experts, Onishchenko blames mass infection on “water of poor quality.” He said the hepatitis may have resulted from breakdown of water distribution system.
“In summer, I often drink cold raw water,” one of the patients told Kommersant. “Who ever would think it had hepatitis virus this time.” The polls say nearly half of all diseased drank raw water.
Onishchenko said he would act in tandem with Nizhni Novgorod governor Valery Shantsev and pledged to apply for additional funds to buy vaccine.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 19, 2005
|
|
|
