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Number of measles cases rises to 147 in Kursk Region

All the ill people were not vaccinated and belong to the group of followers of the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists

KURSK, January 24. /ITAR-TASS/. The number of measles cases has risen to 147, including ten adults, the press service of the Rospotrebnadzor federal public health control service's regional department told Itar-Tass on Friday.

On Thursday, January 23, 133 cases were reported in the region.

All the ill people were not vaccinated and belong to the group of followers of the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists. Most of the cases are reported in the city of Zheleznogorsk and its district. One case is in the Dmitriyev district and one in Kursk.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, 26 patients ill with measles are in hospitals, and 45 are discharged.

In connection with the epidemiological situation in the region, 1,403 people are vaccinated, and local authorities continue to take anti-epidemic and preventive measures.

The first case in the Kursk Region was reported in Zheleznogorsk on December 31, 2013.

Christian Baptists living in the region, in an open letter addressed to Zheleznogorsk head Viktor Solntsev, asked him to consider the situation. They are concerned that the disease outbreak may result in social enmity towards members of the sect of Baptists and ask the city head to settle the situation.

In connection with the increased number of measles cases among city residents, there are facts of unlawful actions of medical personnel and city administration officials towards Evangelical Baptist community members, and parents are under pressure when they hear open contemptuous remarks, are ridiculed and denied medical examination. There are also threats of forced eviction of families and personal insults. The negative attitude of the society is clear and dangerous, the authors of the letter noted. They refer to the federal law that stipulates that Russian citizens have the right to refuse to be vaccinated.

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