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Today's paper. Last Updated: 05/31/2012

Diphtheria Strikes Russian Parliament

A member of parliament was taken to the hospital Thursday with symptoms of diphtheria, one of several dangerous infectious diseases on the rise in Russia, according to Itar-Tass.


The agency said the illness of Vyacheslav Lyubimov was announced at the meeting of the Federation Council, the parliament's upper chamber, by its chairman Vladimir Shumeiko.


Itar-Tass said several Federation Council members rushed to get a vaccination during the day and that the chamber and the parliamentary offices would be disinfected.


Thousands of people contracted diphtheria in Russia in 1993 and almost 500 died from it.


Diphtheria, which inflames membranes in the throat and can be fatal if not treated properly, is one of several infectious diseases making a comeback as health services crumble in Russia and other former Soviet republics.


Cholera was another major threat to the capital this year, as it spread throughout Ukraine and areas of southern Russia.




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