Russian Online News Portal SHOT Creates Frenzy on Telegram with Reports of Mysterious Virus
According to SHOT, a Russian online news portal, a previously unknown virus has allegedly emerged in Russia, infecting people who have been experiencing high fever and severe coughing for weeks. The patients, reportedly, tested negative for COVID-19 and influenza. The symptoms, as described by the patients, started with weakness, followed by a high fever of up to 39 degrees and a severe cough.
In an interview with SHOT, one of the patients, Alexandra, described her experience, stating that she noticed blood when coughing on the fifth day of her illness. Despite taking antibiotics, her coughing episodes continued for a week. She claimed that doctors have identified many cases of infection with an unidentified virus.
According to SHOT, doctors have diagnosed the illness as an “acute upper respiratory tract infection – not determined” and recommend immediate hospitalization if the patient’s condition worsens.
The Russian consumer and health protection agency, Rospotrebnadsor, is currently investigating the reports of the mysterious virus, requesting information from the Telegram channel that initially published the reports.
Meanwhile, the WHO’s representative in Russia, Batyr Berdyklytschew, emphasized the high risk of a sudden outbreak of a new pandemic in the modern world, citing the possibility of a wide range of microorganisms crossing, mutating and acquiring properties that could trigger a pandemic. He stressed the importance of being prepared for this threat on both national and international levels.