Sep. 20, 2005
Nizhni Novgorod prosecutors brought in September 19, 2005 an action concerning the outbreak of hepatitis A in Nizhni Novgorod. As of Monday, as much as 751 residents of the region have been taken to hospital, the number of diseased grows by 100 people each day. The extent of the epidemic points to “complete breakdown of the housing and communal services in the region.”
Now the prosecutors are studying several possible causes that could have triggered the epidemic. The core story is breakdown of sewerage at the water supply system of Nizhni Novgorod.

As of Monday, as much as 751 people suffering from hepatitis have been taken to hospitals, well above the recent outbreak in Tver, where around 600 people were infected. The number of diseased grows by 100 each day and may exceed 1,000 by the end of this week, the physicians forecast.
In the Russia’s Ministry of Public Health, they point to “complete breakdown of the housing and communal services in the region” as the key reason of the epidemic,” “The water supply pipes decayed in the region, and the infection has entered drinking water along with the dirt.”
Unable to wait for results of the probe carried out by prosecutors, Nizhni Novgorod Region’s governor Valery Shantsev announced he starts his own investigation. “The governor intends to hold complete inspection for the whole water system,” representatives of the city authorities said.