The fourth child died after an outbreak of intestinal infection in a psychoneurological boarding school in the Irkutsk region

The fourth child from a psychoneurological boarding school in the city of Cheremkhovo, Irkutsk region, died in hospital, reports with reference to the Ministry of Health of the Irkutsk region. Interfax

“A four-year-old girl died today in the Irkutsk Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital, where she was taken from the Cheremkhovo hospital on the night of August 12,” a Ministry of Health employee told the agency.

Earlier, from August 5 to 12, two five-year-old and one eight-year-old girls from the same boarding school died. The children died in Cheremkhovo City Hospital No. 1. It was established that the eight-year-old girl died from infectious-toxic shock caused by dysentery.

From July 24 to August 3, 23 children aged from five to 15 were hospitalized. According to the regional Ministry of Health, by August 11, three more children were in the hospital. As Interfax clarifies, all children have serious congenital pathologies - cerebral palsy, epilepsy, encephaly, hydrocephalus, the majority - severe mental retardation. They do not walk or talk, the agency writes.

Rospotrebnadzor specialists took water, food samples, and washouts from the catering unit and groups where children were present for examination, but laboratory tests found no violations.

Following an outbreak of intestinal infection in an orphanage, the Investigative Committee opened three criminal cases under Part 2 of Article 109 of the Criminal Code (causing death by negligence due to negligence), as well as under Part 1 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code (negligence). The chief doctor of the Cheremkhovo hospital was fired, the director of the boarding school was removed from his position. In turn, the Minister of Health of the Irkutsk Region Oleg Yaroshenko said that the cause of death of a five-year-old boarding school student who died on August 11 was a congenital disease. “An autopsy of the child’s body took place yesterday, the preliminary cause of death is the main disease associated with the psychoneurological status,” Yaroshenko said.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, an intestinal infection was also detected in 11 employees of the boarding school. Currently, 22 boarding school students have been transported from Cheremkhovo to Irkutsk and placed in the regional infectious diseases hospital, Interfax clarifies.