Biosecurity

Russia sends military planes, biohazard troops to fight Siberian anthrax outbreak

The Russian military are assisting the local authorities in dealing with a deadly anthrax outbreak. The occurrence in western Siberia has already killed 1,500 reindeer, which are used as livestock by the indigenous people.

The Russian Air Force is surveying the area in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area affected by the anthrax outbreak in preparation for the deployment of biohazard troops.

Transport planes have delivered 200 personnel, some 30 all-terrain vehicles and all the necessary supplies for the decontamination mission, which is mostly disposing of carcasses of animals killed by the lethal disease, to the region’s capital Salekhard.

The response comes after anthrax was confirmed to be the cause of death of some of 1,500 reindeer, who died in Yamal over the past weeks. The governor declared a state of emergency on Monday, when numerous reports of the mass deaths of livestock started to surface.