Anthrax quarantine ends in Russia's Tuva

KYZYL. July 31 (Interfax) - The anthrax quarantine imposed in the Barun-Khemchik district of Tuva has ended, the republic's administration said in a statement.

"Restrictions were imposed in the village of Bizhiktig-Khaya in the Barun-Khemchik district of Tuva on July 1 after five locals contracted anthrax by eating the meat of a sick animal. The infected people were treated and discharged, as their condition improved. They remain under medical observation," the statement said.

"There are currently no animals or people showing symptoms of the dangerous disease in the area of the outbreak," the statement said, quoting the veterinarian service.

An operative headquarters previously set up in the area contained the infection together with sanitary, epidemiological and veterinarian services.

Residents of nearby shepherds' camps and the village of Bizhiktig-Khaya, which has a population of 332, including 228 adults, have been examined and interviewed. The authorities carried out the urgent vaccination of 156 people, and 280 residents were treated with anti-bacterial drugs.

According to the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor)'s department for Khakassia, Tuva and the Kemerovo region, four men slaughtered a horse, which convulsed and developed edema, at a shepherd's camp in the early hours of June 24. They boiled and ate the horse's internal organs. One of the men was hospitalized with suspected anthrax on June 30.

It became known that four out of five anthrax patients admitted to the Tuva Infectious Disease Hospital refused to be treated and left without permission on July 18. Doctors tracked them down and provided outpatient treatment.