Plague outbreak in Russia: China has stepped up monitoring of the disease in border regions
Фото: Reuters
In China, regional disease control centers are issuing plague prevention recommendations amid reports of a possible outbreak in Russia. Border regions are stepping up monitoring and cooperation with customs services, while Moscow denies the outbreak exists.
This is reported by ETtoday .
On October 8, the Manchurian Disease Control Center in Inner Mongolia held a risk assessment meeting to review the situation in the Irkutsk region of Russia. The discussion concluded that the risk of plague introduction remains, and that monitoring and coordination with ports and customs should be strengthened.
Later, on October 9, Hunan province, which does not border Russia, released recommendations on symptoms and prevention of the plague. The statement emphasized that early detection of the disease and the use of antibiotics reduce the risk of severe illness.
On October 10, the Hulun-Buir Disease Control Center issued a warning to residents and people arriving from plague-affected areas in the Far East.
In the border city of Suifenhe, the local disease control center is conducting daily information work via WeChat, distributing leaflets and organizing lectures. However, the center said it had not received any new instructions from central authorities.
In August, China and Russia held joint exercises on responding to cross-border infections. One of the scenarios involved the importation of plague. Sergey Balakhonov, director of the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute, took part in the exercises in the Chinese city of Fuyuan on August 24–27. The participants practiced scenarios of the introduction of particularly dangerous infections from abroad under the code name “Disease X.”
Suifenhe remains a major border crossing, and local hotels continue to welcome Russian citizens. One hotel told reporters that Russian guests stay there regularly.
The topic of a possible plague outbreak is also being discussed on Chinese social media. Users are demanding that the Russian side release additional information and drawing attention to the lack of published data on testing methods and research results for the deceased patient.
At the same time, according to sources, Russia denies the outbreak of the plague, and the World Health Organization expects explanations from the Russian side.
Recall that earlier in Russia there were reports of a possible outbreak of plague after the death of an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute . At the same time, Rospotrebnadzor stated that the plague pathogen was not found in the deceased’s biomaterials.
In addition, the United States has already responded to reports of a possible plague in Russia . The American side stated that it was closely monitoring the situation, and the Russian authorities were called upon to provide more information.
Meanwhile, the death of a scientist at a Russian plague institute in Irkutsk has raised concerns about a possible outbreak of plague. Germany is demanding explanations from Moscow and is considering additional security measures, including strict restrictions on travel to Russia.
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