The anthrax epidemic in Yamal will not happen again. Anthrax in Yamal: it's dangerous

The number of people hospitalized from an anthrax outbreak in Yamal has risen from nine to 13, mostly children, local authorities say.

"To Salekhardskaya clinical hospital for additional examination and observations brought four more tundra dwellers from the Yamal tundra," TASS quoted the press service of the region's governor Dmitry Kobylkin as saying.

"The medical staff is conducting proactive treatment and is awaiting the final analysis of experts from Moscow. In parallel, children are being screened for other diseases," the ministry said.

It is noted that representatives of the YaNAO government and the district health department are in constant contact with the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and relevant federal departments.

On the this moment more than 20 different specialists work at the site of the outbreak, air sanitation is on duty around the clock. "At a distance of 80 km from the site, six 10-seat tents from the material reserve of the YNAO in case of emergency have already been deployed. First of all, women and children are transported by helicopters to a safe place. Some heads of nomadic families expressed their intention to stay to help veterinarians and sanitary specialists - no more than 10 people," the press service added.

It is also reported that 500 deer were vaccinated with the anthrax vaccine on Monday. "Today (specialists will work until late at night) 2.5 thousand heads will be vaccinated and tomorrow, July 27 - 1 thousand heads. Vaccination is carried out in a portable corral, which was delivered to the territory by helicopter the day before," the press service notes. In addition, places are being prepared for the disposal of fallen deer.

Anthrax outbreak recorded in Yamal for the first time in 75 years. To date, more than 1.5 thousand reindeer have died from it. Quarantine has been introduced in the Yamal region, the authorities assure that there is no threat to the population.

According to preliminary data from the authorities, the reason for the infection of the deer was an unusually warm summer. During the month, the Yamal was anomalously hot - up to 35 degrees above zero. " The thawed tundra contributed to the manifestation of the source of infection- the remains of an animal that fell a long time ago, - the site of the governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District reports. “The deer in this area were extremely weakened due to the heat, which contributed to their infection.”

According to the Rosselkhoznadzor, sporadic cases of anthrax in animals are registered in Russia: annually two or three points are unfavorable for the disease and from two to seven sick animals. At the same time, between 2009 and 2014, 40 cases of human anthrax were registered in the country (43% more than in the previous five years) in three federal districts: 20 - in the North Caucasus, 11 - in the Siberian and nine - in the South.

In 2015, three residents of the Balashovsky district of the Saratov region were diagnosed with anthrax. It turned out that all three participated in the slaughter of a bull.

Anthrax is especially dangerous infectious disease agricultural and wild animals of all kinds, as well as humans. The source of infection are wild animals and livestock, the disease is not transmitted from person to person.

Infection occurs by contact The incubation period of the disease averages three to five days. The disease proceeds at lightning speed, is characterized by hemorrhagic inflammation of the skin, lymph nodes and internal organs.

The first victims of anthrax appeared in Yamal - the infection caused the death of 12- summer child. Eight more tundra dwellers who found themselves in the zone of anthrax were diagnosed, and just over 200 people are in quarantine. About what happened in Yamal and what anthrax is for modern man, epidemiological experts told MedNovosti.

On Monday, it became known about the death of a 12-year-old child infected with anthrax. According to the press service of the governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a sick boy from the focus of a dangerous infection was sent to the Salekhard district hospital. He was ill with an intestinal form of anthrax, which is difficult to diagnose.

Another eight residents of Yamal, who found themselves in the zone of occurrence of anthrax, were diagnosed. All of them receive intensive treatment. With regard to other tundra dwellers from the quarantine zone and the territories closest to the outbreak - and there are 211 of them - preventive measures. There are 72 people in the Salekhard hospital, including 41 children.

According to official data, 2.3 thousand deer died from anthrax in the region, the infection from which was transmitted to people. Now, thanks to the prompt vaccination of healthy deer in the tundra and the treatment of sick ones, the death of animals has practically stopped.

Expert epidemiologists told MedNovosti about what happened in Yamal and what anthrax is for a modern person.

Elena Volchkova: “It is impossible to get anthrax in your kitchen”

Elena Volchkova, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, PMSMU named after I.I. THEM. Sechenov. Photo: Azj.rus4all.ru

As explained by the Department of Infectious Diseases First Moscow State Medical University them. Sechenov, Professor Elena Volchkova, since anthrax is natural focal disease, it cannot be eradicated completely. The bacteria themselves Vasillaceae quickly die under the influence of factors environment, but the spores are very resistant to these factors and can persist for decades in soil and for years in water. And if violated natural reservoirs accumulation of anthrax spores, both animals and humans can become infected with this infection. Now in Yamal, as a result of anomalous heat, natural foci and, possibly, old burials came to the surface. And the deer that ate the reindeer moss growing there fell ill.

Most often, cattle and livestock are the first to fall ill; anthrax is transmitted to humans mainly by contact. You can become infected when slaughtering and butchering a sick animal, during processing or any other contact with its skin. First of all, the hands that come into contact with the infection suffer. However, any wound on the skin, including on the legs, can become the entrance gate for infection. That is why you should not once again walk barefoot through unknown meadows and fields, in the soil of which a source of natural focal disease can accumulate and multiply. In general, it is always worth trying to protect the skin whenever you are in nature, because there are still a lot of other dangers - from ticks to blood-sucking insects that carry many infections.

What happens when you get infected and is there a cure for anthrax?

When infected with anthrax, reddening of the skin initially appears, then a bubble forms at the site of the spot, which bursts and appears ulcerative lesion. About a week later skin lesion takes the form of a carbuncle. And all this against the background of a temperature reaction, general malaise, weakness.

This so-called skin form illness. Theoretically, it can be confused with another skin disease. But, since isolated cases of the disease are very rare, and outbreaks of infection in humans immediately follow outbreaks in animals, correct diagnosis installed fairly quickly. Skin form anthrax is well treated modern antibiotics, especially with timely hospitalization. In addition, detoxification of the patient's body is carried out, immunoglobulins are used, general therapy. If untreated, mortality is 10-20%.

The so-called generalized form infection that occurs as a result of contact with human body with infected meat, or by airborne droplets(during the same processing of hides and wool). The generalized form, in which the entire body suffers, can also develop with the skin form of the disease, if the infection enters the bloodstream. But, as a rule, skin forms begin to heal quickly, and the possibility of their generalization is unlikely. But the initially generalized forms are really very severe and their mortality, especially without treatment, can reach 90-95%.

There is no danger for the inhabitants of central Russia and Siberia today. Maps of animal burial grounds have been preserved and are under protection. True, sometimes people themselves provoke problems when, not knowing that there were burials on these lands, they begin their unauthorized development, intensive private construction. Theoretically, in addition to cattle burial grounds, former farmlands or grazing areas for a large number of animals can be dangerous. It is impossible to get anthrax in your kitchen. The main thing is not to buy untested meat in unknown places. outlets, along the roads, that is, wherever there is no sanitary supervision. Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous livestock owners who, in the event of an illness of an animal, quickly slaughter it and drag it for sale.

Mikhail Shchelkanov: “The monitoring system for cattle burial grounds should work like clockwork”

Mikhail Shchelkanov, head of laboratory virological research FBUZ "Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in Primorsky Krai". Photo: Ok.ru

Mikhail Shchelkanov, professor at the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), head of the laboratory for virological research at the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Primorsky Territory, said that the emergency in Yamal provoked an extremely hot summer, due to which one of the old forgotten deer burial grounds thawed and opened up.

In permafrost conditions, the already extremely tenacious anthrax spores can remain in alkaline soil for more than a hundred years. Moreover, being well preserved in a natural refrigerator - a half-meter soft “cushion” of reindeer moss and various dead plants located above the ice - anthrax can periodically germinate, forming new spores. When the temperature rises, bacteria can melt out of the permafrost layer - and this is the most dangerous option.

Fortunately, due to the low population density, the outbreak in Yamal was quickly contained. Of course, this required serious efforts by local specialists, who had to be thrown into the tundra by helicopters, but there was no need to take any measures on a national scale. It would have been much more difficult in a more densely populated region or in the case of intensive transport links between this territory and the European part of the country. And then it turned out such a natural quarantine.

When and where the ill-fated burial ground was created, it is impossible to say - this is information for official use. Moreover, even the localization of the place of death of animals in the case of anthrax is classified information. Because the same bioterrorists can go there in hot pursuit and collect deadly material. But the conclusion from the situation is obvious: the monitoring system of animal burial grounds should work like clockwork. And if in some regions there seems to be a situation of epizootic well-being for some infections (that is, there is no threat of the spread of this or that infection among animals), this is no reason to relax.

Anthrax is called anthrax because the vast expanses of Western and Eastern Siberia- this is one of the most intense epizootic and, as a result, epidemic (if there is contact with a person) natural foci this disease. Just like the northern territories of the country. Large herds of animals graze here. And if, God forbid, a case occurs, giant burial grounds appear, which must be strictly controlled. But there is no one to do this. And in general, it's like with the disposal of radioactive waste - no matter how reliable protection you set up, sooner or later a leak will occur.

Therefore, it is better not to arrange burials, but to debug the system of burning the carcasses of dead animals. Veterinarians have such capacities, but they are simply not enough in the event of a mass death. This means that mobile incinerators and purposeful investments in this are not so big. And there are still problems long years we have enough with the old burial grounds.

“Literally in May, we had a conference at FEFU, at which one of my students, a guy from Uzbekistan, made a report on this topic,” Shchelkanov said. - I thought it was very important, because in Central Asia a lot of forgotten burial grounds. But I did not imagine that we also have such burial grounds in the North, about which we do not know everything. And one of them worked."

What happens in the epicenter of the epidemic

In Yamal, an outbreak of anthrax - long forgotten deadly dangerous disease. According to official information, the unprecedented heat in the region led to the tragedy. But, according to local residents, it was not possible to prevent the tragedy due to banal negligence.

Quarantine has been introduced in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. For at least a month. Forbidden sale fresh meat, fish, berries and mushrooms. Reindeer herders, whose plagues were located in the zone of infection, lost their homes and earnings. To eliminate the consequences, troops of radiochemical and biological protection, rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and doctors from the federal center were abandoned on Yamal.

What is happening in the region, the central media report in passing, the information is given strictly dosed. And each story ends optimistically: “Everything is calm in Yamal. Animals are being vaccinated. The hotbeds of danger have been extinguished. The problem is practically solved."

How things really are in the region, what people on Yamal are concerned about and why the tragedy could not be avoided - in our material.

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“The anthrax bacteria enters the lungs with air, and from there to The lymph nodes that are inflamed. Anthrax symptoms: Initially, the patient has a high fever, chest pain, and weakness. After a few days, shortness of breath and a decrease in the level of oxygen in the blood appear. Once in the lungs, the causative agent of anthrax quickly spreads throughout the human body. Often there is a cough with blood, an x-ray can show the presence of pneumonia, the patient's body temperature often rises to 41 degrees. There is pulmonary edema and cardiovascular failure, as a result, hemorrhage in the brain is possible.

“Deer died quickly, in a few hours”

Here is what representatives of the Yamal administration write on social networks: “There is no epidemic in Yamal. The quarantine was introduced locally, the borders of the district for the entry and exit of people are not closed. The sanitary and epidemiological state of the place of temporary stay of people taken out of the quarantine zone is under observation sanitary doctors, in medical institutions - initially secure facilities - the level of security control, disinfection and access has been strengthened. The vast majority of nomads from the quarantine area are healthy, but receive from Yamal doctors preventive treatment».

According to the latest data, 90 people were hospitalized in Yamal with suspected dangerous infection. Twenty have been diagnosed with anthrax. Infected including three children, the youngest of whom is not even a year old. According to some reports, three people died - two of them children. All hospitalized are nomads who grazed deer 200 kilometers from the village of Yar-Sale. As a result of the mass death, 2,500 deer died. It was the animals that became carriers of the infection.

The entire Yamal tundra has now become a quarantine zone. 250 military and special equipment arrived here from Moscow and Yekaterinburg. It is necessary to vaccinate the surviving deer, decontaminate the territories and dispose of the carcasses of the dead deer. They will be burned. Only high temperature can kill anthrax.

Families of reindeer breeders were transported to nearby villages

Employees of the Investigative Committee are now investigating whether anthrax was detected in the region in time.

However, even good news does not calm the residents of the villages adjacent to the infected zone. People pack their things and move to Salekhard. Who has nowhere to run from a sinking ship, they clean the house with bleach every day and stock up on masks. Entertainment events in the region have been cancelled.

“Children walk around with swollen necks, but the authorities are silent about this”

The capital of the Yamal region, which was overtaken by trouble, is the village of Yar-Sale. The infection zone is located 200 km from the village.

A native of the village, Elena, is going to wait out the hot season in Salekhard with her relatives.

In the stores of Yar-Sale, we have a rolling ball - all the venison and semi-finished products of slaughter in 2015 were dismantled, - the woman says. - People understand that this year there will be no slaughter, so we will be left without meat. Berries and mushrooms were also banned from picking. Those who have already salted mushrooms for the winter and made jam are recommended to dispose of everything. All our garbage dumps are now filled with jars of compote and jam.

They banned the export of meat, deer skins and fish from our villages. They say on TV that the outbreak is localized, but this is not true. Deer mortality is still observed in different places, for example, in Pangody, only they are silent about this.

The number of patients with anthrax, according to our data, is increasing every day. A 12-year-old child who died of an ulcer still seems to be unable to bury. After all, he cannot be buried according to the traditional customs of the Nenets, he must be cremated. But the parents are against it. As a result, the body was covered with bleach, the mortuary staff are waiting for the consent of the mother to be cremated.

Vaccinations are also not given to everyone. Only those who are in contact with the sick and help dispose of the carcasses of dead animals in the tundra are vaccinated.

But there has already been a rumor that from August 6, they will still begin to vaccinate all the inhabitants of the village. But the deer that did not have time to become infected, like all of them were vaccinated. Although it should have been done before. But the nomads waved their hand at these rules. For which they paid.

The plagues of all reindeer herders who were in the danger zone were burned. Personal belongings were disposed of. The women and children of the tundra workers were transported to safe areas. Those who categorically refused to leave their homes were provided with new plagues in a clean camp and were given antibiotics.

You understand, a deer for the Nenets is life. This is clothing - a malitsa, a frog, kitties, and food, and a means of transportation, and housing: they make plagues from deer skins. So in a few weeks these people lost everything, - adds the interlocutor. - Those nomads who did not have anthrax were isolated from society just in case. They were temporarily settled in boarding schools, under lock and key.

My friend works with infected nomads. She said that the tundra people take antibiotics. The dishes from which they eat are carefully treated with chlorine. 160 tablets of bleach are put into 10 liters of water. The employees of the institution do not take off their masks and gloves.

According to her, the nomads feel bad under normal conditions for us. Now they are fed with porridge, liquid soup, pasta. But they can not live without meat and fish! Their body does not perceive other food, except for venison. I heard that some people turn out from such food.

And they try not to let them out on the street. But some still come out somehow. Their children are walking. Many of my neighbors have already begun to quit and go to big cities so as not to put yourself in danger. Most of the villagers take their children away from here, to relatives.

Among the dead tundra dwellers are a grandmother and a grandson. “Two members of the family of reindeer herders died from an ulcer, a 75-year-old grandmother and a 12-year-old grandson. The boy, when he was still alive, said that he drank blood and ate fresh deer meat,” the village administration officials said. The villagers do not know the details of the life of this family. They say that the nomads did not communicate with them much. Yes, and they visited the village once every six months, stocked up on wholesale products to last for 5-6 months, and left back.

I heard that the case continues in the area of ​​​​the Yuribey bend and in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Lata Mareto River, - the woman continues. - The locals say that the children go there with swollen necks, the dogs are all swollen too. Swollen necks are swollen lymph nodes is one of the symptoms of anthrax. But for some reason they keep silent about it.

But Elena's neighbor, Nadezhda, is more optimistic.

I trust the local media. If they say that the situation has stabilized, the deer have been vaccinated, they have been moved to a safe place, then it is true. All patients are in the Salekhard hospital. My friend said that there are 48 people in the infectious diseases department with suspected ulcers. The hospital is on duty around the clock. Entrance is by pass only, so we have nothing to fear in the village.

Healthy reindeer herders were brought to us, who need somewhere to turn over until their dwellings are restored. The people left without plague and livestock settled in our first-aid post, there are about 60 of them there. I understand that officials will do everything possible to prevent a scandal.

All plagues of nomads that were in the infected zone were disposed of

In fact, anthrax came to the region not on July 16, as all the media are trumpeting, but much earlier. The tundra dwellers themselves told us that the first deer fell on July 5th. The reindeer herders then called the district administration, but they ignored their calls. Then the nomads had to turn to the district center. It just happened on July 17th. By that time, the death rate was about 1000 deer.

“The reindeer breeder walked for four days to report the trouble”

Men in Yar-Sale are philosophical about what is happening: come what may.

Alexander from the village of Yar-Sale told how he sees the situation.

I'm not too worried about what's in next year we won't eat meat. Considering that there were 700,000 deer in the area, about two thousand died, I think this problem should not arise. But to whom will the tundra people sell this venison? It is unlikely that there will be those who want to try it.

Also in the area it was forbidden to sell deer antlers, which people bought as a piece of furniture. The export of this product is also strictly prohibited. Employees of housing and communal services management companies daily wash the entrances of houses with bleach. I think I'll work on my housing on the weekend, just in case.

All cafes in the village were closed, the restaurant is still open, but they say it won't last long. Discos and mass celebrations have been cancelled. public transport not in the village, so there is nothing to cancel. Buses are still allowed in Salekhard. But passengers are carefully checked - you can not export and import meat, fish, berries, mushrooms.

Could the tragedy have been avoided? And is it the fault of the authorities that anthrax came to Yamal? Nikolai from Salekhard, who regularly travels around the reindeer herding villages, told us a story that the media preferred to keep silent about.

When a slight loss of livestock began, the tundra people decided that the deer had become sick from the heat. This July, the weather was atypical for our region - it reached 38 degrees.

Here is a message that spread through social networks from nomads (a screenshot has been preserved): “Near Lake Yaroto in the camp of 12 chums, 1,500 deer heads died, dogs died. Everywhere stench, decay, stench. The children had boils. People are not taken out, the authorities do not provide any assistance, while they are silent about it. The authorities became aware of our trouble a week ago, but they do nothing. Soon people will start dying in the tundra. Please help post. Save people."

The message went unheeded.

But now representatives of the administration of the Yamal region claim that the author of the message is an ordinary troll.

It's all the fault of ordinary negligence, - continues Nikolai. - Reindeer breeders have been looking for the head of the Yamal region for a long time. But in the administration they were told that he was in the tundra with reindeer herders. But none of the representatives of the administration were seen there. District officials arrived only a couple of weeks later, when the loss of livestock had already become massive, there were more than 1,000 heads.

Those who were there say that the picture looked like a horror movie about zombies. The whole camp is littered with the corpses of animals. Deer died quickly, in a few hours. They just fell and continued to barely breathe for some time. People were walking around, many were already sick by that time, they could hardly move, they were shivering. It was then that local officials realized that the matter was getting serious, but tried to correct the situation on their own. Did not work out. And our governor asked for help from higher authorities.

And only then did help come. All structures were connected: the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Rospotrebnadzor, the Ministry of Health, veterinarians from nearby regions were sent to the place.

Judging by the word of mouth, it is still far from complete elimination, - continues Nikolai. - In those places, water in lakes and streams is contaminated, people are afraid that groundwater will flow into the Ob and there is a possibility of infection big water and its fauna. But, as scientists on the spot say, this cannot be.

The authorities also report that, allegedly, since July 22, a general practitioner has been with people at the camp. There was no doctor there, to my knowledge. Air ambulances only arrived on the 23rd. And the doctor was brought on July 24 to the camp. During all this time, birds of prey and animals pecked at the corpses. Okay, the deer fell, in ten years he will restore his herd. But the fact that the number of people infected there can exceed a hundred is scary.

- No one will buy venison now, right?

Even many locals say they won't eat venison for at least a couple of years. But there is a risk that some poachers, not knowing about the ulcer, butchered dead carcasses, cut down antlers, skinned and managed to take out a certain amount. Now the local authorities are looking for everyone who did this in order to destroy what they managed to take out.

- Is deer meat expensive?

It costs from 180 rubles. up to 280 rubles for 1 kg. Reindeer breeders sell for 180 rubles, state farm - for 250-280.

The entire Yamal tundra has now become a quarantine zone

The words of my interlocutor were partly confirmed by the Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova, who urgently arrived in the region. She said that the infected area may be wider than previously reported: “It all started from one outbreak, very small. But then, for a certain time, new foci were revealed, there are several of them today.”

Infectionists admitted: the bacteria were spread by deer and animals that ate the corpses of those who died from the disease, as well as by birds and insects. The radius of infection can be up to hundreds of kilometers from the source. However, experts say that the animals could not have gone far.

“After I visited the infected zone, they burned all my personal belongings and money”

The representative of the administration of the Yamal region Ravil Safarbekov, as he can, reassures the people in social networks. Here are some of his posts.

“Now everyone is working hard: doctors, veterinarians, scientists, the Yamal government, the district administration, public organizations, volunteers, etc. Many do not sleep for days, eat on the go.

Institutes and laboratories of Russia joined in solving the problem. The situation is constantly changing, new data comes. In order to prevent the spread of infection, the quarantine zone has been increased, which means that it is necessary to relocate more more families reindeer herders to clean places. Epidemiologists forbid the movement of personal belongings - which means that every family needs new plagues, 100% equipped.

New personal belongings, new sleds, new clothes - none of the reserve fund of the district, which was empty in a couple of days, could handle this. Please help!"

"The governor confirmed that all largest companies The fuel and energy complex has joined the work - they allocate equipment, helicopters, specialists, large sums money to buy the necessary things and means of assistance.

“The tundra workers who are in the boarding school are conditionally healthy, however, reinsurance is underway.”

“I myself was in the infected area. After the visit, they burned all my personal belongings, money. He barely begged me not to touch the equipment, camera, cell phone, which was in my backpack until the end of the flight. They were treated with chlorine and other liquids and given away. Personally passed thermometry, washing, getting new things. Not a single person who has been in the zone of infection will be allowed through.”

Ravil Safarbekov also explained the reason for the incident.

“I'm not an expert, but scientists say the wild heat thawed the canker spores. When I flew between the hearths, I saw Nenets cemeteries (the Nenets, by tradition, put the coffin on the surface of the earth, they don’t bury it). So there is an assumption that the burials thawed out under the monthly heat. There is also a version that the places where deer died from an ulcer in the Middle Ages thawed out. Then there were few people and deer, and they left the dead places, leaving the corpses in place. There was nowhere to go. The heat gave the bacillus carte blanche: it settled in deer, killed and, perhaps, through the soil or meat moved into people.

Rescuers in Yamal have been vaccinated in advance and work in special protective clothing

Meanwhile, the deputy head of the Rosselkhoznadzor criticized the actions of the Yamal authorities to prevent an anthrax outbreak. Nikolai Vlasov stated that reindeer herders had no opportunity to report the case, and veterinarians learned about the beginning of the anthrax epizootic five weeks after it began. Vlasov also pointed out that the largest outbreak poses a huge danger to future generations, because it will not be possible to dispose of deer carcasses in time.

What happened in Yamal is an unprecedented event. And the main mistake of the authorities is the lack of universal vaccination of deer.

In 2007, deer vaccination against anthrax was canceled in the Yamal tundra. veterinary service The Yamal region said: this was due to the fact that the virus is simply not able to survive in the conditions of the northern climate. The safety of animals was confirmed then by scientists from Moscow ...

MEANWHILE

On August 2, the authorities of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug banned the export of meat, antlers and skins of deer from the area where the anthrax outbreak occurred. The regional government clarified that there is no deer slaughter at this time of the year in Yamal. And all residents of the region are urged not to buy meat at spontaneous sales points. So far, more than 2,300 animals have died from the ulcer virus, and the area itself has been quarantined.

In the meantime, in one of the capital's venison stores, we were told that, regardless of the situation in the district, all game sold for sale undergoes a veterinary examination twice. The first time - still at the place of slaughter.

In addition, the batch that comes to us is being tested at the veterinary station to which we are attached, the store explained. - There the meat is checked for all possible viruses. Or we may receive venison that has already undergone heat treatment and therefore disinfected. But in any case, the last time we were supplied with meat was in the fall. And after the epidemic, there was no import, and we don’t know when it will be.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, the focus of anthrax infection in the YaNAO has been localized. A 12-year-old teenager died. 90 people were hospitalized settlements vaccination of humans and animals continues. To combat the consequences of the epidemic, additional army units have been deployed to the region, which are engaged in the destruction of fallen livestock and disinfection of the area. The ICR is conducting an investigation. "Lenta.ru" understood the causes and consequences of anthrax.

biological attack

On Tuesday, August 2, the Ministry of Defense reported on the build-up of an army group, eliminating the focus of anthrax in Yamal. During the day, the soldiers destroyed the remains of more than fifty deer, reports.

"The grouping of the Central Military District, which includes more than 200 military personnel, 19 pieces of special equipment, mobile laboratories, 4 Mi-8 helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, will be reinforced by another 50 specialists and 13 pieces of equipment from the units of radiation, chemical and biological protection," - noted in the department.

Army specialists are transferred by military transport aircraft from Yekaterinburg to Salekhard.

Colonel Yaroslav Roshchupkin, assistant commander of the Central Military District, explained that the fallen cattle were being burned. At a temperature of 140 degrees, anthrax spores die. “They use old car tires, fire mixes and oil products,” he specified. - Upon completion, the soil is treated with disinfectant.

Monitoring of the area where the focus of the disease is localized is carried out using unmanned aerial vehicles.

In parallel with the military operation strong structure conduct an investigation. Employees Investigative Committee Russia is investigating whether there was an outbreak dangerous disease the result of violating veterinary regulations.

The suspects in the TFR have not yet been reported, but most of all, the committee is interested in the activities of government agencies, whose powers include the timely detection of the disease and the suppression of its spread. And also by how quickly the evacuation of people from the focus of the epizootic began. Investigators collect and summarize all known circumstances.

“It has been preliminary established that in the tundra zone of the Yamal region since June 2016 there has been a mass death of deer of private livestock and the municipal reindeer herding enterprise,” they say in the administration of the ICR for the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region. “To date, more than 2,000 heads have died.”

In the disease-affected "dirty" area, specialists take samples of soil, water, air, vegetation and insects for laboratory research. The evacuation and vaccination of people from nearby areas continues. Animals are being vaccinated.

In the hearth

There is no threat of anthrax spreading to other regions. This was reported to Lente.ru by the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova.

“The focus is localized. For people, there is no threat of further spread of the disease, but all epidemiological measures continue until all animals are vaccinated and until we are convinced of the complete safety of people in this territory,” she stressed.

Popova also said that 10 people were discharged from the infectious diseases hospital on Tuesday, August 2, who received antibiotic prophylaxis.

In total, ninety people were taken to the district hospital of Salekhard with suspicion of anthrax. More than half of them (54) are children.

“Of those who were not hospitalized, but were under medical supervision, there are 269 such people, 151 people successfully completed antibiotic prophylaxis,” the head of the supervisory agency concluded.

In total, as of August 2, out of 90 people admitted to the hospital, the diagnosis was confirmed in 20 patients, including eight children. During the day, there were no new calls with suspected anthrax, according to the YaNAO administration.

Rospotrebnadzor assures that the leakage of biomaterial from the infectious diseases department of the hospital in Salekhard, where patients with suspected anthrax and with a confirmed diagnosis are located, is excluded. To verify this, special studies were carried out by order of the department.

On the needle

The chief epidemiologist of Yamal, Lyudmila Volova, reported on the course of the vaccination campaign on Tuesday, August 2. “We started doing this from the “clean zone” towards the source of infection in order to prevent the spread of infection. All people who were in the outbreak receive preventive treatment, and three days after its completion, they will be vaccinated,” she explained.

The anthrax vaccine is given twice three weeks apart and should be repeated annually thereafter. Currently, 90 thousand vaccines have been delivered to the region for residents of the Yamal, Priuralsky, Tazovsky, Nadymsky districts of the district.

In total, half a million people live in the YNAO. According to Irina Shestakova, chief infectious disease specialist at the Russian Ministry of Health, there is no need to vaccinate everyone.

"It's one thing when you're really in an epidemiological problem area. Or if you expect to travel to such a zone in the near future, - says Shestakova. “If these are citizens who are outside this territory and do not come into contact with animals or materials received from them by the nature of their work and life, then I think that it is quite possible not to be vaccinated.”

There are victims

On August 1, it was reported that a 12-year-old teenager with a confirmed diagnosis of anthrax died in the Salekhard hospital. The administration of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is sure that the cause of death was intestinal form illness. It develops after eating the meat of an infected animal.

Governor Dmitry Kobylkin ordered to restore the course of treatment of the deceased child every minute and provide his parents with all the necessary assistance.

Information spread in the media that the grandmother of this boy, with whom they ate together, also died of anthrax, but this was not confirmed by the district government.

“An elderly woman was also in the focus of infection. She passed away a week ago, but had nothing to do with the dead boy. Samples have been taken from her, but anthrax has not yet been confirmed, ”Nadezhda Noskova, head of the press service of the YaNAO governor, told Komsomolskaya Pravda.

tenacious bacillus

The spores of bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of the disease, are particularly viable and can last up to 200 years. The most common source of infection is cattle. The corpse of an anthrax animal infects the soil. The reindeer moss grown in such a plot is dangerous for other animals. The disease is not transmitted from person to person.

The latest outbreak of the deadly infection, according to experts, was facilitated by an unusually warm summer for the region. The air temperature in Yamal rose to 35 degrees. The permafrost thawed, and anthrax spores fell from the soil into the water.

Photo: Konstantin Chalabov / RIA Novosti

People most often become infected through direct contact with an infected animal: when cutting carcasses, through leather products and other animal products. But the disease can be transmitted through water and through the air.

anthrax under different names known from antiquity. At the end of the 18th century, the Russian doctor Stepan Andreevsky assigned the modern name to it. The human vaccine was created in 1940 by Nikolai Ginsburg and Alexander Tamarin from the Sanitary and Technical Institute of the Red Army. The military needed medicine, since the Japanese tried to use anthrax spores as a bacteriological weapon in Manchuria.

In terms of the number of victims, the outbreak of infection in the spring of 1979 in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) is considered the most severe. Then, out of 96 cases, 64 people died.

Until recently, the last victim of anthrax was considered a resident of the village of Druzhba, Tselinny district Altai Territory. He died in August 2012. On average, no more than 11 cases of human infection with this infection are registered per year in the country.

The disease can occur in the pulmonary, skin and intestinal form. Incubation period- from several hours to 2-3 days. The cutaneous form is the most common. It is accompanied by inflammation of the lymph nodes and the formation of a carbuncle (acute purulent-necrotic inflammation with tissue necrosis). Pulmonary form the symptoms are similar to a cold and the pneumonia that follows it. Unlike skin, even with high-quality and timely treatment, death from it occurs in 50 percent of cases.

The intestinal form is considered the rarest - it was the boy who died in Salekhard who fell ill with it. On the early stage it is difficult to identify - the symptoms are similar to food poisoning.

Of particular danger is the so-called generalized form of infection, in which the entire body suffers. Mortality in such cases, especially without proper treatment, reaches 90-95 percent.

What's next?

According to Professor Elena Volchkova, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, it is impossible to completely eradicate anthrax, since it is a natural focal disease, writes Medportal.ru. But the infection goes beyond the focus is extremely rare. As for artificial reservoirs, all cattle burial grounds are under the protection of authorized state structures. And it all comes down to responsibility. officials.

There are, however, irresponsible cattle owners who, in the event of an animal's illness, try to quietly slaughter and sell it. So that human factor also plays a big role.

Mikhail Shchelkanov, professor at the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) and head of the laboratory for virological research at the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Primorsky Territory, recalls that permafrost creates ideal conditions for the preservation of anthrax. Spores are preserved for a long time in a natural refrigerator.

The outbreak in Yamal was quickly contained due to the sparsely populated and inaccessible area, which facilitated the creation of a natural quarantine. In the future, more active development and settlement of the region, the development of its infrastructure, new risks may arise. So far, the problem can only be stopped, but not solved.

The first outbreak of anthrax, an extremely dangerous infectious disease in the last 75 years, occurred in Yamal. Most likely, the reason was an unusual warming for the tundra, due to which the old cattle burial grounds with the corpses of sick animals were defrosted. A child has already died from anthrax, more than two dozen people are sick.

A dangerous infectious disease - anthrax - has not bothered the inhabitants of Yamal since 1941. Now, according to local authorities, 23 people have already been infected with it. A severe form of the disease has not been recorded, but among the victims of anthrax there are 10 children. Recently, after confirming the diagnosis, a 12-year-old child died in the hospital.

I was informed of the death of a boy in our hospital. I sympathize with the parents. From the first day we played it safe, did everything possible to save the life of everyone who got into trouble. Literally fighting for everyone's life. But the infection showed its cunning. Returning after 75 years, she took the life of a child, - Interfax quoted the statement of the Governor of the YaNAO Dmitry Kobylkin.

The boy was diagnosed with an intestinal form of the disease. This means that, most likely, he ate the meat of an infected animal.

The outbreak of the disease has already claimed the lives of more than 2.3 thousand deer, from which nomads become infected. About 90 people, mostly from families of reindeer herders, are in the hospital for additional examinations, most of them are children. Since July 25, quarantine has been declared in the Yamal region of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug due to the death of animals.

At the same time, the Rosselkhoznadzor states that the animals began to die back in June, and the local authorities found out about what was happening too late and began diagnosing.

Late diagnosis. YNAO is not the poorest region. But veterinary care for animals is not good, very weak. Veterinarians learn about an anthrax epizootic five weeks after it began. Reindeer herders - without reliable communication. One of them, in order to notify about the state of emergency, walked through the tundra for four days, - Nikolai Vlasov, deputy head of the department, told Ura.Ru.

According to him, the outbreak poses a great danger to future generations, because it is necessary to dispose of too much a large number of animal carcasses.

Now you need to burn 150 corpses per day. And before that they will wait for their turn 20-30 days. Non-vaccination of animals is the choice of subjects. Unfortunately, not in favor of future generations - all this will be conserved no one knows how long.

At the same time, cattle burial grounds cannot be made in the tundra, because the pathogen will be stored in the permafrost, as in a refrigerator, Vlasov explained. When burning, old car tires, fire mixtures and oil products are used, and then the soil is treated with a disinfectant solution. The Ministry of Defense attracted more than 200 servicemen from the radiation, chemical and biological protection brigades of the Central Military District for this work.

By the way, it is possible that it was the creation of animal burial grounds that caused the outbreak of the disease this time. Earlier, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said that "in 1941, 6,700 deer fell on both sides of the Taz Bay, while only 313 were removed."

All the rest remained in this territory, Interfax quotes Popova.

This year, due to abnormally hot weather for the Far North, cattle burial grounds could melt and release a dangerous infection. Presumably, she first struck deer, and then people who ate the meat of an infected animal or came into contact with it.

Now the export of meat from the Yamal region is prohibited, and local residents are not allowed to pick mushrooms and berries on its territory. On Wednesday, Russian Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova plans to meet with residents of the Yamal region.

The head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said that the focus of anthrax in the YaNAO was localized, and there was no threat of its spread to other regions.

Anthrax is an extremely dangerous infectious disease. It hurts both animals and people. flows into acute form with intoxication, damage to internal organs and skin with black ulcers.

Earlier, Medialeaks talked about another dangerous disease that has spread in Europe -. In terms of danger, it is comparable to HIV.