A total of 127 people are under medical observation after an anthrax outbreak in the Omsk region killed a man Sunday, the regional Health and Social Development Ministry said Tuesday, RIA-Novosti reported.
Only six cases have been confirmed, but 127 local residents are under medical observation because they were employed at a horse-slaughtering facility where the animals had contracted the illness, the report said.
The owner of the horses, Gafaz Aitenov, who is alleged to have been aware that the animals had the disease, faces up to five years in prison, local investigators said Tuesday, Interfax reported.
About 2 1/2 tons of horse meat with anthrax went into production of pelmeni, some of which is still being tracked down, RIA-Novosti said.
(MT)
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