No infection

The capital's doctors assure that in the near future Moscow will not be threatened with cholera, plague or smallpox. This was stated by the chief sanitary doctor of Moscow Nikolai Filatov. “There is no cholera in Moscow, and there are also no conditions in the capital for the spread of infection,” he said. -- Surveys are being conducted among all passengers arriving in Moscow from Kazan to find out whether they are complaining about their health. If necessary, each of them undergoes a medical examination. And three people who were previously hospitalized with suspicion of this disease were today discharged from the hospital: tests confirmed that they did not have vibrio cholerae.”

Mr. Filatov also said that over the past year, thanks to the work of doctors, cases of typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, salmonellosis, diphtheria and polio have significantly decreased. True, the statistics are spoiled by malaria and measles, which suddenly became more active in the Mother See. Currently, 71 cases of malaria have been registered in Moscow, while during the same period last year only 48 people fell ill. The reason is, Nikolai Filatov noted, that 56% of the water surface in the city is occupied by the nests of blood-sucking insects, mainly mosquitoes, which can be carriers of malaria. Sanitary services treat water bodies with special means, destroying insects, but so far these measures are insufficient. As for the increase in the number of measles cases (by 26% compared to the previous year), it turns out that now it mainly affects students. The head physician named Moscow State University as one of the places where there is a high risk of contracting measles. Also, doctors in the capital are currently concerned about a significant increase in the incidence of hepatitis A. If 1,240 cases were registered in six months of 2000, then during the same period of this year their number has doubled. Mr. Filatov considers these to be “imported” cases. Over the six months of this year, 47 cases of tick-borne borreliosis have been reported among residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. Doctors remind people to be careful when vacationing in the forest, to wear closed clothing and hats. In addition, on the eve of the harvest season, Nikolai Filatov reminded about the danger of botulism and suggested not buying rolled mushrooms, cucumbers and tomatoes, as all this can lead to disaster.

Kirill VASILENKO