Infections Registered in Sisian Not Linked to Poisoning of Lake Sevan

On May 12, the Ministry of Health announced that 296 cases showing symptoms typical of intestinal infections had been recorded in the Sisian community. Water was considered a potential cause of the outbreak. On the same day, Azerbaijani armed forces crossed the state border of Armenia in the region of Lake Sevan. Many rushed to link these two events together, with media reports suggesting that the Azerbaijani side had poisoned Lake Sevan, leading to mass poisoning cases.

The participation of Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan in a Security Council meeting intensified these suspicions. The next day, a news report on “5th Channel” opening with the statement: “Azerbaijanis appeared near Lake Sevan in Syunik, and on the same day it was reported from Sisian that 370 people had been poisoned. Is this a coincidence, or did what many said months ago happen: nothing would stop Azerbaijan from starting hydro-terror against Armenia?”

Television commentator Lara Arakelyan, quoting the words of the acting minister, said, “Anahit Avanesyan has only stated that a sample of the water suspected of causing poisoning in Sisian has been taken and sent for examination. The results of the examination were later published, confirming that the poisoning was indeed caused by the water, which did not meet the requirements for drinking water.”

Regarding official sources, Lara Arakelyan points out that official information is silent on whether this situation is related to the control of Lake Sevan by Azerbaijan or not. The head of the “Green Future” environmental movement, candidate of biological sciences Vahagn Varagyan, also addressed the issue, saying that the cases of mass poisoning from drinking water in Syunik are not coincidental and represent a national security threat.

It should be noted that the report partially presents the information conveyed by official sources. There is no mention of any prior accident that affected the water supply system of the settlement during epidemiological investigations, nor that this was noted as one of the main factors in the spread of the poisoning.

Anahit Avanesyan stated in a news briefing that nothing at that moment indicated that the situation could be related to the blockade of Lake Sevan by Azerbaijan. Moreover, she also pointed out that the issue relates to rainwater and sewage infrastructure problems.

It is important to note that in the ministry's announcement, it refers to the hospitalizations occurring between May 9 and 11, while the statement concerning the blockade of the lake was issued on May 12.

In an interview with Sputnik Armenia, the director of the Sisian Medical Center, Ani Grigoryan, stated that Azerbaijanis couldn’t poison their springs since the sources of Sisian’s water are located in Shaki. In a conversation with Media.am, Murad Sargsyan, spokesperson for “Veolia Water” LLC, confirmed that the water supply for the Sisian community comes from Shaki, which is located 10-15 km away from the city, and it is a closed source. The water is transferred to the community through pipes. According to the spokesperson, there is no other network supplying water to the city. As we can see on the map, Sisian and Shaki are quite far from the Lake Sevan area.