Number of Patients Infected with Siberian Ulcer in Isahakyan Village of Shirak Province Reaches 10

Number of patients infected with Siberian ulcer in Isahakyan village of Shirak province has reached 10. This was reported by SHANTNEWS.

Recall that on June 30 and July 1, 7 residents of Isahakyan village were hospitalized in the infectious disease hospital in Gyumri with a preliminary diagnosis of Siberian ulcer. Three more patients were admitted to the hospital on July 4 and 8 with the same diagnosis. They are women who purchased and processed meat from an infected animal. Doctors evaluate their condition as more severe than that of the previously admitted patients, as the women had engaged in self-treatment and sought medical help quite late.

"The patients' condition is assessed as medium severity. They bought the meat from their fellow villager and got infected while processing it. The outbreak is the same. The ulcers are located on their upper extremities, on their fingers. The wounds are quite deep. Their condition is more severe compared to previous hospitalized patients because they consulted late and hid the wound, engaging in self-treatment. If they had sought help sooner, they would have received easier and quicker treatment. Self-treatment should be avoided. Siberian ulcer does not heal on its own; it requires specific inpatient treatment. If they do not seek help, they will come with a more complicated condition later. Additionally, they can infect their family members, as it is a contact-transmitted disease. A total of 10 patients have been admitted with a preliminary diagnosis of Siberian ulcer from the same outbreak," said Astghik Beybutyan, director of the Gyumri Infectious Disease Hospital.

After the mortality of animals in the village, doctor-epidemiologists organized house-to-house visits, which resulted in the discovery of the infected animal meat and instances of transmission from animals to humans.

It should be noted that in Isahakyan village, more than ten large and small livestock deaths have been recorded due to the Siberian disease. Two of the patients have already been discharged from the hospital. All residents of Isahakyan village who have consumed meat from infected animals are under surveillance.