Mass Chechen Illness Blamed On Viruses In Springwater

Two strains of virus have been identified as being behind a recent mass illness in Russia's Chechen Republic.

In a statement on June 23, Russia’s consumer protection agency, Rospotrebnadzor, said forensic tests conducted in Moscow had proven the presence of adenovirus and astrovirus in springwater from a village in eastern Chechnya.

The viruses frequently cause diarrhea and were blamed for the hospitalization of 229 residents of Ishkhoi-Yurt earlier this month.

In a statement on June 4, Rospotrebnadzor's branch in Chechnya had excluded tainted water as the culprit.

All of the patients have since been discharged from hospitals.