A mysterious illness, described as a “Covid-like” virus, has reportedly surfaced in Russia, leaving patients with severe fever and coughing up blood. Initial reports appeared on the Telegram group ‘SHOT,’ which includes members of Russian federal agencies, and were later picked up by local media.
As per reports, the disease starts with tiredness and muscle pain, similar to Covid-19. But within five days, the symptoms become severe, including high fever (up to 39°C or 102.2°F) and a cough that lasts for a long time, sometimes with blood. Patients have reportedly tested negative for Covid and flu, and doctors have labeled cases as “acute upper respiratory tract infections of unspecified origin.”
A Telegram post on March 29, which was more than 430,000 times viewed, brought focus to the issue of the outbreak. In one account, a woman named Alexandra spoke of contracting the virus. The Daily Mail translated the following part of the post:
A mysterious virus has emerged in Russia. As SHOT has found out, infected patients have had weeks of high fever and coughing up blood, but they test negative for Covid and flu.
All of them, whether sick or healthy, have similar symptoms: all this begins with simple aching and weakness, but within a few days, the virus ‘downtools’ and there is no escape from bed. Together with the high temperature not more than 39 degrees, Russians report having an intense cough up to tears.”
Alexandra said even after taking antibiotics, her condition continued, and by the fifth day, she was coughing up blood. The post also theorized that she might have had mycoplasma pneumoniae, an infection caused by bacteria that affects the lungs leading to pneumonia as well as symptoms of flu.
Public Responses
Mainstream Russian media news channels, Lenta.ru, and Newizv.ru reported the supposed outbreak but mentioned there was no confirmation from state healthcare authorities.
Most users spoke about their experiences on Telegram as a reply to a message on Moscow Live. One said:
“It’s hell, already I have rib pains from coughing, you can’t even eat, even meds sometimes give me nausea.”
Another said, “Cough lasted more than a month, the fever continued for nearly three weeks. I recovered from Covid much better.”
While global experts have not been able to confirm these allegations, others have warned that the political climate in Russia could impact how the information is reported. Sharon Sanders, an independent disease monitor, warned on FluTrackers:
“Just a reminder… the Russia situation is very political. And disease propaganda has been used in the past – globally.”
“I have no idea if this is a big deal or a typical disease outbreak.
Russian Government Response
Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s public health service, has dismissed a new virus. In a public statement, the agency declared:
“Now, the situation of epidemics in the Russian Federation among a group of respiratory diseases, such as SARS, flu, Covid-19 and community-acquired pneumonia, is steady and completely controlled. There is a reduction in the incidence rate. The epidemiological situation among the group of infections in Moscow is also stable.”
Further, Rospotrebnadzor added that “constant epidemiological surveillance and genomic monitoring in Russia” hadn’t detected any new viruses or notable mutations.
Gennady Onishchenko, Russian Academy of Sciences member, minimized the worries in a TASS statement:
“Most probably, there is no virus there, let’s not make a big issue out of it now, but let’s examine the data of at least one study. The most crucial thing is where this virus is, where these diseases were recorded.
Although there have been reports of an unknown disease spreading in Russia, causing panic, official health agencies are adamant that there is no new virus. With mixed messages coming from local sources, government officials, and independent sources, the nature of the outbreak is still unclear.
