Kazahkstan has suspended livestock and animal origin product imports from Russia amid an outbreak of anthrax and nodular
dermatitis in the country, the republic's Agriculture Ministry said
in a statement Thursday.
An anthrax outbreak hit the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district in northern Russia last week for the first in 75 years. The outbreak was reportedly caused by the thawing of an infected frozen reindeer corpse due to unusually high temperatures.
The first fatality was a 12-year-old boy who reportedly died in a
hospital after eating infected venison. As of Aug. 2, a total of
90 people are under observation in hospital and 20
cases have been confirmed. Quarantine was imposed in the infected areas of the region on July 25.
On Aug. 4, it was reported that the Russian Defense Ministry had sent the
Orlan aerosol disinfection system to the region in order to fight
the outbreak, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The Orlan system can disinfect up to 90 square meters of surface per
minute.
In total, 200 servicemen and 30 vehicles have been sent to the region to deal with the outbreak.
The nodular dermatitis viral disease, which spreads among cattle, is
currently registered in several Russian regions including Astrakhan, Krasnodar and Stavropol, and the republics of
Kalmykia, Ingushetia and Dagestan, according to RIA Novosti.
