Anthrax-infected Russians escape Siberian hospital

Four patients infected with anthrax in Tuva, a region in Russia’s southern Siberia, have escaped from the hospital where they were being treated, according to the regional Ministry of Health.

“Four patients hospitalized with anthrax refused treatment at the [region’s] infectious diseases hospital and left the medical facility without authorization. One patient continues to receive [in-patient] treatment,” the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s state-run news agency Tass cited public health officials as saying that the escaped patients are in satisfactory condition, however, they can only be discharged after all manifestations of the disease on the skin—ulcers or lesions—have healed. In rare cases, person-to-person transmission has been reported with cutaneous anthrax, where discharges from skin lesions might be infectious, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

People can get infected with anthrax if they come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products, and anthrax can cause severe illness in both humans and animals, the CDC notes.

In early July, four residents in the Tuva region, which borders Mongolia, were diagnosed with anthrax after eating the meat of an infected horse. The fifth case was confirmed several days later.

Over 150 people were vaccinated against the infectious disease since.

The regional branch of Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s federal public health watchdog, has been informed of the patients’ escape, Tass reported.

Nikolai Malyshev, the former chief infectious diseases specialist in the Moscow Health Ministry, told Russian news outlet Lenta that the four infected patients should be brought back to the hospital in Kyzyl where they were undergoing treatment, for further monitoring.

He didn’t comment on the risk of the disease spreading, saying that he doesn’t know when they began treatment, but described their escape as “irresponsible.”

The CDC notes that people get infected with anthrax when “spores” enter the body. The spores may activate and become anthrax bacteria, multiply, spread out in the body, produce toxins and cause severe illness.

Working with infected animals or animal products such as wool, hides or hair, and eating raw or undercooked meat from infected animals can increase the chances of getting anthrax.

Symptoms of anthrax can take anywhere from one day to more than two months to appear, and include fever and chills, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, confusion or dizziness, cough, nausea, stomach pains, headache, sweats, extreme tiredness, and body aches.

If untreated, the disease can spread throughout the body and cause severe illness and even death, according to the CDC.