The Russian authorities and the World Health Organisations (WHO) have dismissed growing speculation over reports of an unidentified virus that causes patients to cough up blood and suffer from prolonged high fever, saying no new pathogens have been detected.
The rumors, which originated on the Telegram channel SHOT and were amplified by local media, centered on patients exhibiting severe respiratory symptoms but testing negative for influenza and COVID-19.
Officials now attribute the cases to common respiratory infections, including Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
Rospotrebnadzor, a Russian agency responsible for overseeing consumer rights protection and public health, said in a statement that there is “no evidence of a new or unidentified virus circulating on the territory of the Russian Federation.”
WHO representative in Moscow confirmed that the recent suspected cases in Russia were caused by the known bacterial infection of mycoplasma pneumonia, the report said.
Berdyklychev said that the WHO had requested related data from Russian authorities in response to the reports of patients coughing up blood.
“Following investigations, including laboratory confirmation, it was determined that the five reported cases in Moscow and the Moscow region were caused by mycoplasma pneumonia.
“This is not a new virus, and the number of cases does not pose an increased epidemiological risk,” he said.
Berdyklychev said the WHO has established effective collaboration with Russia’s Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare.
“This is a very good example of the fact that the Russian Federation has set up a reliable epidemiological surveillance system.”
