MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. A total of four residents of Russia’s Tuva Region in Siberia have to date been diagnosed with anthrax, the regional branch of the federal veterinary watchdog said in a statement on Wednesday.

The first anthrax patient identified in the region was hospitalized in late June.

"As of today, four anthrax cases have been confirmed in the Barun-Khemchiksky District of the Republic of Tuva," the statement reads.

According to the veterinary watchdog, all four people diagnosed with anthrax had taken part in the slaughtering of a sick horse. "Its internal organs were cooked and eaten," the agency explained.

"The threat of an epidemic breaking out has been ruled out. Anthrax is not transmitted from person to person," Russian public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor emphasized.

The agency's epidemic control unit continues to carry out preventive measures at the nexus of the anthrax outbreak in Tuva. "An area of over 11,500 square kilometers has been disinfected. Researchers from Rospotrebnadzor’s anti-plague institutions are working on site," the agency added.

News came on June 30 that a resident of the village of Bizhiktig-Khaya, Barun-Khemchiksky District, Tuva Region had been hospitalized with anthrax. Over 100 unvaccinated animals are kept in the household where the man was staying. Six people, including four children, who live there permanently have been put under medical observation. A total of 84 people have been vaccinated at the nexus of the anthrax outbreak.