Infectious Diseases Are on the Increase in Russia

A whole range of infectious diseases is spreading in Russia, with diphtheria up three times from last year, more than double the number of syphilis cases and a minor outbreak of cholera, health inspectors reported Thursday.The chief inspector of the State Committee for Sanitary- Epidemiological Surveillance, Vladimir Chiburayev, reported an outbreak of cholera in the southern region of Dagestan, where 22 fell ill. The spread of infectious diseases is a grim side-effect of rising poverty, worsening healthcare and labor conditions, pollution and the easing of travel restrictions, Chiburayev said. Poor quality drinking water and food products were also to blame, he added.In a press release the committee listed 9,962 cases of diphtheria in Russia in the first five months of the year, up from 2,827 in the same period of 1993. Not counting prisoners and a few other categories, there were 1,357 infections reported in Moscow in the first five months of the year, despite widespread immunization campaigns.Diphtheria is a bacterial infection which affects mucous membranes, and can be fatal. More than 70 people have died this year in Moscow alone. The outbreak of cholera in Dagestan was the result of a pilgrimage of several Moslem men to Saudi Arabia but it quickly spread to relatives and neighbors, Chiburayev said, adding that he did not expect the disease to spread into other regions. No one died and most were now recovering, he said.The committee also listed 78 cases of malaria, up from 43, and reported a 165 percent rise in the sexually transmitted disease syphilis, to 37,217 cases. It also counted 15,337 cases of Hepatitis B, up 23 percent.Children's diseases, less serious but potentially dangerous for infants, are on the rise as well, with whooping cough up 138 percent and German measles up 143 percent to 247,129 cases.Chirubayev said that only 12 of Russia's 89 regions had funded programs to improve hygiene and fight epidemics.Chirubayev, citing tests that found 8.5 percent of meat unfit for consumption and rejected 6.9 percent of babyfood, called for stricter laws to guarantee the quality of food and drinking water and to limit pesticide use.