MOSCOW, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - More than 50 new cases of hepatitis A virus (HAV) have been registered over the past 24 hours in the Nizhny Novgorod province, in central Russia, the Emergencies Ministry reported Friday.
The patients were hospitalized, bringing to 1,049 the overall number of HAV cases detected during the latest outbreak, the ministry said.
The current HAV epidemic in Novgorod is believed to have been caused by a sewage system breakdown, which has also led to the spread of waterborne intestinal diseases. Seventy-nine people diagnosed with dysentery and similar infections have been admitted to local hospitals since September 17.