A mystery respiratory illness has been reported widely in Russia where patients have been suffering from high temperatures as well as bringing up blood when they cough
Patients with high fevers have been coughing up blood in Russia in an outbreak of a mystery illness as Russian authorities have been forced to dismiss speculation that an unidentified virus is sweeping the population.
Reports have been widespread of people suffering from respiratory symptoms but at the same time testing negative for Covid-19 and flu. It has led Russian authorities to make a statement claiming that it is not an unidentified virus as no new pathogens have been found. People have told of temperatures reaching 39C where they have also been coughing up blood, with accounts shared on the Telegram group SHOT and also picked up by local media.
Amid rising concern, Rospotrebnadzor, a Russian agency that oversees consumer rights protection and public health, said there is “no evidence of a new or unidentified virus circulating on the territory of the Russian Federation.” A Telegram post on March 29, which has had more than 430,000 views, warns of the virus and pictures a woman named as Alexandra who is said to have had the condition.
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The message reads: “An unknown virus has appeared in Russia. As SHOT has learned, those infected have been suffering from high fever and severe coughing up blood for weeks, while they have negative tests for Covid and flu.
“The symptoms of those who fall ill are the same: it all starts with the usual aches and weakness, but after a couple of days the virus ‘cuts down’ and it is impossible to get out of bed. Accompanied by a temperature of up to 39 degrees, Russians note a severe cough to tears.”
Alexandra told how she saw no improvement to her coughing after five days and then began to notice blood. It was claimed that she had tested negative for coronavirus and flu while medics had said that they had seen many other cases of the condition.
Other symptoms that Alexandra had included tiredness and muscle aches, while doctors reportedly said it was an “acute upper respiratory tract infection of unspecified origin,” and recommended she went to hospital if symptoms worsened.
It was also said in the post that she may have mycoplasma pneumoniae, which can cause flu-like symptoms and pneumonia in patients. It is sometimes referred to as ‘walking pneumonia’ as patients fall sick, but not unwell enough to be left bedridden.
News outlets including Newizv.ru reported the outbreak while commenting on the lack of statement from authorities about what was behind the cases. Another person claiming to have the condition on Telegram wrote: “It’s a nightmare, my ribs are already hurting from the cough, it’s impossible to eat, sometimes even the medications make me feel sick.”
While a further said: “The cough hasn’t gone away for over a month, the fever lasted for almost three weeks. I got over Covid much easier.”
Meanwhile, Rospotrebnadzor also said that cases of Covid and flu were going down in Russia. Gennady Onishchenko, of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told TASS agency: “In St. Petersburg, we have the Pasteur Institute, which only deals with influenza, and its official report does not contain any information about any new virus.
“Therefore, let’s not brush this information aside… [but], most likely, there is no virus, let’s not hype it up now.” The health agency also reiterated that “spreading unverified information about public health can lead to unnecessary panic” and urged the public to seek medical guidance through official channels.
Experts from outside the country have been unable to verify reports of the illness, but have warned that the situation in Russia is “very political.” Sharon Sanders, a self-trained disease-tracker who helped track the early days of the Covid pandemic, wrote on her site FluTrackers: “Just a reminder… the Russia situation is very political.
“And disease propaganda has been used in the past – globally. I have no idea if this is a big deal or a typical disease outbreak.”
