Siberian virus outbreak spreads

5 Jun, 2008 12:23 / Updated 16 years ago

Five more children have been diagnosed with a deadly virus in Southern Siberia. The outbreak at a nursery in the town of Abakan has already claimed two lives and put more than 30 children in hospital.

Russia's chief sanitary officer Gennady Onishchenko said the outbreak was not linked to China's enterovirus epidemic. Doctors say the virus can cause a range of diseases including meningitis, which could have been the cause of the two deaths. The head of the nursery has been charged with negligence and the nursery itself is under quarantine. The authorities predict more people will be detained in connection with the incident.