Viral Hepatitis and the Russian War in Chechnya
Abstract
The ill-equipped and ill-prepared Russian Army that staggered into and out of the war in Chechnya experienced several critical health problems. The all-too-familiar Russian problem of lack of field sanitation was again apparent as 95% of the infectious disease among the Russian combatants was passed through fecal-oral transmission. A modest 3.7% of infectious disease was passed through airborne transmission and the other 1.3% were other modes of infection. Over half of the intestinally-related infections (53.2%) were from viral hepatitis while 27.7% were from shigellosis and 20.1% were from enterocolitis. Outbreaks of diphtheria, cholera, malignant anthrax, 2 and plague also threatened the health of the Russian soldiers. There were approximately 400 diagnosed cases of cholera in Chechnya in 1994. Acute viral hepatitis and cholera were the two major diseases that Russian medical personnel had to contend with. Both are endemic to squalid living conditions and confined living space found in ill-regulated field camps and deployment areas. Initially, Russian laboratory personnel deployed to Chechnya lacked the diagnostic tools needed to differentiate among hepatitis A, B, C, D and E--a necessary distinction so that proper preventive measures could be taken within the deployed forces. The Russian military introduced an Israeli diagnostic system from the "Orgenics" firm and a Russian diagnostic system from Nizhny Novgorod which allowed these laboratory personnel to develop a methodology for identifying the various types of hepatitis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA435004
Entities
People
- Lester W. Grau
- William A. Jorgensen