Caning punishment. Putin was asked to deal with infections at Black Sea resorts. Advice from scientists: how to go to the seaside without getting an infection

Tourists who vacationed on the Black Sea coast of Russia this summer are trying to draw the attention of the authorities to the sanitary situation on the Black Sea coast. According to them, it is “catastrophic.”

"Tour to the infectious diseases hospital"

Russians are demanding officials stop the spread of intestinal infection at Black Sea resorts. This is stated in the petition, which is posted on the website.

The author of the petition was Norilsk resident Larisa Yangol. According to her, “being with a small child in Adler for only two days and having swam in the sea, instead of resting, we got an intestinal infection and a trip to the infectious diseases hospital, which turned out to be overcrowded with vacationers.”

Sick children are even lying in the corridors, there are not enough places! Everyone has the same story - they swam in Adler’s Black Sea, where sewage is dumped and is teeming with E. coli!... And this is in post-Olympic Sochi, where they did everything for the guests of the Olympics, but cannot create conditions for a safe holiday for their children!”

writes an excited tourist.

In his appeal, Yangol asks local authorities to influence the general sanitary situation on the coast. She, the tourist claims, “has gotten out of control and threatens the health of the nation.” She addressed her appeal to the country's President Vladimir Putin and the country's chief sanitary doctor. Within a month, more than 1,000 people signed the petition.

I am signing because my vacation on the Black Sea coast is hopelessly ruined, because... Of the 6 people in our company, all of them had an intestinal infection, spent a lot of money on medicine and stayed in their room for most of the vacation! Urgent checks from Moscow are necessary, because local authorities are keeping silent about the whole truth about the epidemiological situation,”

Moscow resident Tatyana Chugunova tells her story in the comments.

Netizens who vacationed on the Russian Black Sea coast publish numerous stories about cases of the disease. The intestinal infection and rotavirus were caught by those who were on vacation in Sochi and Anapa.

Thus, Angela Alekseenko complained that her child in Adler contracted an intestinal infection simply by sitting on the beach.

60 children a night are admitted to the hospital with one diagnosis - “intestinal infection”, all the children are in the arms of their parents, they are constantly vomiting, they are exhausted and cannot stand on their feet. Poor doctors who do not have time to do anything, the hospitals are overcrowded.” , -

writes a woman.

According to Ural resident Vitaly Egorenkov, whose family also suffered from an intestinal infection, there is always a line of about twenty people in pharmacies.

Everyone has the same symptoms, everyone buys the same medications. The pharmacy understands the situation and doubles the prices,"

says the Ural resident.

Ambulances arrive at hotels several times a day to take away those who are infected.

Authorities: carelessness of vacationers is to blame

More than 3.3 million tourists vacationed in Sochi from January to July 2016, according to an official statement on the municipality’s website. The beaches are 100% occupied.

At the same time, the Ministry of Health of the Krasnodar Territory and Rospotrebnadzor deny massive outbreaks of infection. However, the regional department of Rospotrebnadzor reported that no cases of group and outbreak morbidity associated with water-based infection transmission (swimming in the sea, rivers, use of recreational areas) have been registered in the region, Kommersant writes.

This information was confirmed to the publication by the Ministry of Health of the Krasnodar Territory. According to official data, the state of sea water is also not satisfactory. According to Rospotrebnadzor research, the proportion of water samples that do not meet hygienic standards for microbiological indicators was 0.8%; according to sanitary and chemical indicators - 0.4%.

The authorities also believe that parents and their children spend too long in the sun, including at times when it becomes unsafe to be there.

According to the deputy head of the tourism department of the Sochi administration, Elena Pavlovich, they do not rule out cases of poisoning, but emphasize that this is not widespread at the resort. And parents are advised to monitor their children more closely so that they are not in the sun all the time and do not drink sea water, the website Kuban.info reports.

Ecologist: sewerage flows straight into the sea

Environmentalists point to a problem with sewerage in the Krasnodar region.

I have been on business trips to Sochi and its suburbs many times and have seen with my own eyes the sewage flowing into the sea. This situation is typical for Russia and for the villages of Sochi. Sewage and fecal waters flow into the sea. The runoff ends up in local rivers, which flow into the sea. People often swim on the beaches where the runoff comes out,"

says the head of the charitable environmental foundation “My Planet” Vitaly Bezrukov.

According to him, the sanitary situation at the resort is also deteriorating due to the construction of mini-hotels on the site where previously there were only small private houses.

For example, there used to be a one-story house in which, say, four people lived; there was relatively little waste. Then a five-story mini-hotel was built on this site. Accordingly, the volume of sewage flows increases significantly, and they both flowed into the sea and continue to flow,” -

explains the ecologist.

In addition, according to him, household chemicals (phosphorus-containing washing powders, detergents, etc.) enter the sea with these wastewater, which gives rise to the bloom of blue-green algae, which in turn contributes to the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria.

31.08.2016 11:03

The closure of Turkey and Egypt has led to an increase in the flow of Russian tourists to the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Treatment facilities cannot cope with the load. The result is an outbreak of intestinal infection in the Krasnodar region. Tourists complain that the sea is polluted by sewage and algae, and report overcrowded hospitals. Local authorities do not acknowledge the problem: official comments say that there are no mass cases of disease.

Meanwhile, the collection of signatures has begun on the Internet for a petition in which Russians ask President Vladimir Putin to save the Russian resort from an environmental disaster.

In the public domain you can find hundreds of similar messages about how tourists, after swimming in the sea, suffered from diarrhea and vomiting, waited for hours for an ambulance and spent most of their vacation in the hospital. Mostly parents of preschool children complained about their ruined vacation.

Perhaps the post of Angela Alekseenko from Petrozavodsk is most widely circulated on social networks. She is indignant that, for the sake of profit, the authorities, doctors and the media are suppressing information about the epidemic on the Black Sea coast. She was vacationing in Sochi with her two-year-old son. After going to the sea, his temperature rose, diarrhea and vomiting began. The baby and his mother were taken by ambulance to the emergency room of the infectious diseases hospital, where they had to wait three hours to see a doctor in the company of other vacationers with similar problems.

“A bunch of parents, all the children in their arms, they are constantly vomiting, they are exhausted and cannot stand on their feet. Poor doctors who don’t have time to do anything try to be kind and understanding. But tired as hell. And today is the fourth day in the hospital, periodically I cry, in complete shock, why everyone is silent,” writes Angela Alekseenko.

According to Alekseenko, 60 children are admitted to the hospital every day with one diagnosis - an intestinal infection.

“It turns out you can’t go to the sea, it’s dirty, children get poisoned, their small, fragile body breaks down! And everyone is silent! Hospitals are overcrowded, people are lying in the corridors, I myself see this nightmare. It’s dirty, stuffy, there’s no refrigerator or microwave in the entire hospital,” the woman is indignant. The ambulance doctors told her that this situation had been happening since the beginning of summer. “Why are you silent? “Then you won’t come to us,” they answer. This is fine? All summer it’s been such nonsense, poor children are poisoned, some are vomiting blood, and everyone is sneezing because of money!” - Alekseenko is indignant. Her post was republished by the media and bloggers, but later for unknown reasons it was deleted from Facebook. Znak.com tried to contact Angela Alekseenko through a social network, but at the time of preparing the material, she did not respond to a personal message.

Tourists faced similar problems throughout the summer in other resort towns in the Krasnodar Territory. As Sverdlovsk resident Denis Stepanchenko, who was vacationing with his family in the village of Vityazevo near Anapa, told Znak.com, the family spent 10 of the 14 days of their vacation in their room due to an intestinal infection that struck the children.

Local residents consider the main cause of illness to be dirty sea water, in which at the end of summer, due to the heat, algae bloom and bacteria multiply. In addition, old-timers point out the lack of centralized sewerage.

More than 3.3 million tourists vacationed in Sochi from January to July 2016, according to an official statement on the municipality’s website. The beaches are 100% occupied. At the same time, the administration’s health department refused to tell Znak.com over the phone how many people were hospitalized with intestinal infections this season. Znak.com sent an official request to the press service of the city administration, but there is no response yet.

Official reports from the Sochi administration say that the water in the sea meets all necessary standards. As the press service of the mayor's office reports, citing specialists from Rospotrebnadzor, this summer the water even became cleaner by about 10% compared to 2015.

Environmentalists point to a problem with sewerage in the Krasnodar region. “I have been on business trips to Sochi and its suburbs many times and have seen with my own eyes the sewage flowing into the sea. This situation is typical for Russia and for the villages of Sochi. Sewage and fecal waters flow into the sea. The runoff ends up in local rivers, which flow into the sea. People often swim on the beaches where the runoff comes out,” says Vitaly Bezrukov, head of the My Planet charitable environmental foundation.

This year, resorts on the Black Sea coast are extremely popular. These are not only the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea, but also sunny Bulgaria. Pleasant climate, beautiful scenery, warm and gentle sea, reasonable prices are what attracts tourists. Even during the difficult economic situation in the country, they are not ready to say goodbye to their vacation, which is why they are looking for budget alternatives to fashionable resorts. Not everything is as rosy at the resorts of the Krasnodar region as travel agencies and operators present it. Their goal is to sell the tour and attract the attention of vacationers. They will never take responsibility for your vacation, so you need to approach the choice of a resort more demandingly and carefully, since, except for yourself, no one can provide the most pleasant, comfortable and safe conditions.

Shocking news

Infection detected in the Black Sea! This news literally blew up the entire world community. Every day, local residents go to medical institutions with complaints of intestinal infections. It became obvious that the water in the Black Sea is contaminated with microorganisms that cause a similar reaction. in the region is really unfavorable. All local residents and vacationers want to receive complete and reliable information about what is happening, to protect themselves and their loved ones if possible.

Let's understand the reasons

Intestinal infection in the Black Sea is not uncommon. On the one hand, its presence is explained by completely objective reasons. The water temperature, when reaching an anomalous level of 29 degrees Celsius, caused the active proliferation of quite dangerous algae. The geographical position of the sea can hardly be called the most successful, and all because the circulation of water in it occurs very slowly. In fact, this is a closed reservoir, so pathogenic microorganisms, having appeared in it, only increase their power. If this reason is called the main one, then, perhaps, every year it will appear in the Black Sea. But over the past three years, it has really been causing discomfort to vacationers.

There is another opinion, to which an increasing number of experts are inclined. So, intestinal infection in the Black Sea becomes a consequence of excessive activity and the huge appetite of local officials, who are trying to squeeze the maximum out of the resorts at the very peak of the season. What does it mean? The fact is that the beaches of Adler are overcrowded with people; it is simply impossible to swim normally in the sea. Dirt on the beach, garbage and bottles in the sea are normal for resort areas. Is this not the reason for the emergence and active spread of infection? Moreover, this year tourists noted the presence of waste and sewage water in the sea. The inaction of local authorities at a time when hospitals are simply overflowing with patients is striking. If you go to a medical facility in a timely manner, the infection can be overcome, but your vacation will definitely be ruined. It is unlikely that tourists who have gone through all the hell of local hospitals will want to come back here again.

Talking about infection

Let's try to answer the question what kind of infection is in the Black Sea in August. Many people call it rotavirus. So, this is an infection caused by rotaviruses. The disease is characterized by an acute onset, vomiting, weakness, and increased body temperature.

There are several ways to become infected, so it has a fairly large source of spread, often resembling an entire epidemic, which is why it becomes even more dangerous. Adults and children can become infected on the beach while sunbathing and swimming in sea water. Infection also occurs through common objects and crowded places. In hot conditions, the infection begins to spread even more rapidly. Most often, bacteria affect the mucous membrane of the small intestine. Of course, when the first symptoms of the disease are detected, you should immediately contact a specialist and begin treatment in order to shorten the duration of the disease and prevent the development of complications.

How the situation really is

At the height of the season, all hospitals in Sochi and Adler are overcrowded with patients who have contracted the infection. The situation is truly critical; some tourists decided to abandon the trip altogether out of fear for their health. This position is correct, especially if there are small children in the family. Agree, going to the coast at the height of the season, where an epidemic is raging, is the height of recklessness.

Tourists' opinions

Tourists in the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory complain about the state of the water in the sea, its pollution by sewage and wastewater. There are quite a few stories on social networks describing how, in just two days at sea, children are stricken with rotavirus infections and, instead of the long-awaited vacation, go on a not-so-pleasant tour of local hospitals. All stories are the same.

About hospitals

All vacationers in the Krasnodar Territory infected with rotavirus are sent to Regional Hospital No. 4. If you believe the information about it, it is designed to serve 110 thousand patients, and in the season up to a million vacationers and tourists. The scale is impressive and amazing. This is probably an excellent medical center, with an impressive territory and equipped with modern technology.

In fact, the hospital has about 350 beds, only two infectious diseases departments designed for 110 patients. You certainly can’t count on an attentive and hospitable attitude towards patients, much less qualified medical care. Hospital staff complain about a lack of specialists, staff and a huge number of infected patients. In the conditions of unsanitary conditions that prevail in a medical institution, it is not possible to recover, or even improve your condition. It is for this reason that many tourists prefer to be treated with their own means.

Authorities' response

Rospotrebnadzor could not stand aside and answered everyone’s question whether there is So, the expert commission reported that the state of water in the Black Sea is constantly monitored, nothing was found, so there is not the slightest reason for concern. So why are the city's hospitals literally overcrowded with people at the height of the season? Rospotrebnadzor is confident that this is not an infection in the Black Sea at all, but banal food poisoning of a widespread nature. According to him, during high air temperatures it is simply impossible to avoid the spread of intestinal infection, and vacationers often visit catering establishments on the beach or resort without observing basic hygiene requirements. They often buy sweets, fruits and food from vendors on the beach.

The situation is aggravated by the increasing heat. Under the influence of direct active sunlight, it is quite easy to get, which can lead to vomiting, increased body temperature and general weakness.

What to do in case of defeat

Is the Black Sea as dangerous as the media say it is? How to protect yourself and your children from infection? These questions are actually very important.

If you notice the first symptoms of infection, you must immediately seek help from medical specialists, undergo a comprehensive examination to determine the exact cause of what is happening and begin treatment. Before the doctor arrives, it is better to place the patient in a cool place and give him to drink as much fluid as possible to prevent dehydration. Of course, this should be a liquid at room temperature, and in no case ice water from the refrigerator.

Trying to prevent defeat

Doctors strongly recommend that parents do not take children under 3 years of age to other climate zones. A sharp change in climate can have an extremely negative impact on a child’s body that is not yet strong enough, making it vulnerable to various infections, including rotavirus. Today you can see how families with very tiny children spend the whole day on a crowded beach, trying to get the most out of their vacation. It is clear that in such conditions the probability of infection or getting the same heat stroke is quite high. Children on the beach are at risk.

When going on vacation, especially with small children, be more careful when choosing a hotel, give preference exclusively to rooms with air conditioning, choose only trusted cafes for your meals, or cook yourself.

If you have chosen resorts on the Black Sea coast, you should not visit them during the high season. Even if the water in the Black Sea is not contaminated, the likelihood of infection and infection does not decrease due to mass gatherings of people, overcrowding of beaches and cafes. Remember that you are primarily responsible for your health and the health of your children, so you should not expose yourself to even minimal risks - it is better to give up rest altogether.

A Russian tourist appealed to Vladimir Putin with a request to take control of the situation at the Black Sea resorts of the Russian Federation due to the increasing number of cases of intestinal infection after swimming in the sea.

Even a resident of Norilsk (the most polluted city on the planet) called the sanitary situation in the Black Sea resorts “catastrophic.” Larisa Yangol, the author of the petition, writes that “having been in Adler with a small child for only two days and having swam in the sea, she and her child ended up in an “infectious disease” crowded with vacationers with small children.

As Kommersant reports, since mid-August, numerous vacationers have been publishing messages on social networks about cases of intestinal infection and rotavirus in Sochi and Anapa, as well as their reports on visits to overcrowded hospitals. At the same time, the Ministry of Health of the Krasnodar Territory and Rospotrebnadzor deny massive outbreaks of infection. The regional prosecutor's office announced the closure of the beach in Novorossiysk due to the dangerous proximity to the sewerage system.

The last weeks of the school holidays were overshadowed by numerous reports of outbreaks of intestinal infection and rotavirus at resorts on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory. Messages are published on social networks by vacationers themselves, as a result of which some users who booked tickets and vacations on the Black Sea for the last days of August or the velvet season abandon their plans.

Petition “Stop intestinal infection in the Black Sea!” on change.org, by Monday, August 29, it had collected more than 700 signatures. The initiator of the appeal to the President of Russia, Larisa Yangol from Norilsk, described the sanitary situation on the Black Sea coast as catastrophic: “Having been in Adler with a small child for only two days and having swam in the sea, instead of resting, we got an intestinal infection and a trip to the infectious diseases hospital, which turned out to be overcrowded with vacationers, sick The kids are even lying in the corridors, there’s not enough space!” - writes Larisa Yangol.

The BlogSochi resource published a message from Angela Alekseenko, who complained that her child in Adler contracted an intestinal infection just by sitting on the beach. “60 children a night are admitted to the hospital with one diagnosis - “intestinal infection”, all the children are in the arms of their parents, they are constantly vomiting, they are exhausted and cannot stand on their feet,” the woman writes. “Poor doctors who do nothing they have time, the hospitals are overcrowded.” Users of social networks from different cities of Russia in their comments to these messages confirm that cases of intestinal diseases, especially in children, are not uncommon on the Black Sea coast.

The editor-in-chief of the BlogSochi resource, Alexander Valov, believes that the sanitary and epidemiological situation in Sochi may worsen due to shortcomings in the commissioning of Olympic infrastructure facilities (sewage treatment plants are not operating at full capacity), as well as due to the massive construction of mini-hotels and housing that is connected to the sewer system with violations or is not connected at all. In this regard, garbage and sewage end up in streams and rivers, and then into the sea, notes Mr. Valov.

According to the Ministry of Resorts of the Krasnodar Territory, the congestion of Black Sea beaches in the high season of 2016 exceeded 100%, however, regulatory structures deny widespread cases of violation of sanitary standards in recreation areas. The regional administration of Rospotrebnadzor reported to Kommersant that cases of group and outbreak morbidity associated with the water factor of infection transmission (swimming in the sea, rivers, use of recreational areas) have not been registered in the region.

This information was confirmed to Kommersant by the Ministry of Health of the Krasnodar Territory. As for the state of sea water, according to Rospotrebnadzor research, the proportion of water samples that do not meet hygienic standards for microbiological indicators was 0.8%; according to sanitary and chemical indicators - 0.4%.

According to the regional prosecutor's office, in the summer of 2016 there were three cases of suspension of beach operations due to violations of operating standards: in the Central region of Sochi, the Lastochka and Svetlyachok beaches were closed (the tenants at the time of the inspection did not provide the territory with a shower and toilet, now the violations have been eliminated ).

In Novorossiysk, the court closed the Neptune beach, since it is located in close proximity to sewerage facilities, and studies of sea water showed that permissible pollution standards were exceeded.

What is really happening on the coast of the Krasnodar Territory? The earth is full of rumors, and social networks are teeming with horror stories from experienced tourists. People write eagerly and colorfully about the resort nightmare that their vacation turned into.

The sea is a big toilet

“The sea has turned into a big toilet. And the local authorities don’t care, it’s just money in their eyes. Don't be a herd, plan smarter next summer. We ourselves are from Krasnodar, we know our sea well, and this has never happened before.”

“This is the situation along the entire Black Sea coast. In Georgia, all hospitals are also full. Almost everyone has an intestinal infection, but as always, water tests are normal, just like in Russia.”
“We vacationed in Adler from July 19 to August 1, 2016. An epidemic has broken out, but declaring a quarantine and closing the resort means losing billions of money. Towards the end of our “vacation” on the beach, a warning finally sounded that there was an intestinal infection, along with stupid advice: do not wash fruits in sea water, wash your hands, etc. We are convinced that the cause of what happened was the discharge of sewage water into the sea. We swam a lot and several times felt a strong unpleasant odor from the water, and we weren’t the only ones. But some want to place all the blame on vacationers: they are the slobs, they eat anything, they use the plumbing incorrectly, they don’t look after their children, etc. This is the approach of the local administration and the restaurateurs, hoteliers, and medical officials who sing along with it out of self-interest. For them, the citizens of our country are not brothers, not dear guests, but sheep that just need to be milked and sheared.”
Reach the President
The especially desperate ones went even further, straight to the Kremlin. Larisa Yangol from Norilsk urgently asked the head of state to take the maritime situation from its sanitary point of view under personal control. In her appeal, also addressed to the chief sanitary doctor of the Russian Federation, Onishchenko, this situation is characterized as catastrophic. Larisa wrote that children and adults, instead of sunbeds under palm trees, lie under hospital IVs and literally “do not get off the potties”! “And this is in post-Olympic Sochi, where they have done everything for the guests of the Olympics, but cannot create conditions for a safe holiday for their children,” Larisa poured out a cry from her heart in her petition to the president. The letter had many supporters.
Do not violate the hygiene regime at every step
And yet, it is better not to neglect advice about hand washing. And it’s better not to drink sea water. Although, alas, no one is actively promoting these seemingly simple but effective rules on the coast. Let's take a look at the website of the Ministry of Health of the Krasnodar Territory. The department's press service cheerfully reports on the work of the cancer patrol and unique operations, but the real news hit of recent months has been the vaccination campaign. For ten days (from August 24 to September 3) - six publications about the prevention of influenza, and not a single one about the prevention of intestinal infections and rules of conduct on the beach. Why, for ten days, there hasn’t been a single note since the beginning of the season, not counting the opus about the risk of heat and sunstroke.
As for the agency that is responsible for accumulating information on the state of sea water - the regional Rospotrebnadzor - it called the situation regarding the incidence of acute intestinal infections on the Azov-Black Sea coast stable. Moreover, according to the department, the incidence rate this year has decreased by 10% compared to the previous period. It is noted that of the number of cases, the share of those arriving on vacation is up to 70%. That is, the infection hardly affects locals. And water... “The proportion of samples that do not meet hygienic standards does not exceed the long-term average and amounts to 0.8%,” the report says. Victoria Gorbushina, the owner of a mini-hotel in Adler, is also sure that nothing extraordinary is happening this year. Everything is as usual, she shared her impressions with the Kavkaz Post correspondent. In the second half of July and August, when the water warms up most intensely, someone always needs absorbents. That’s why the owner keeps them in sufficient quantities. Last year, yes. The flood that hit Sochi on June 25 brought a lot of sewage into the sea, rainwater came in a one and a half meter wave. The presence of pathogenic bacteria was then confirmed by laboratory tests, and the beaches were closed. So, it turns out that the health of vacationers is in their own hands.