Meningitis outbreak in Belarus

Belarussian medics have reported an outbreak of meningitis in Grodno, a city at the junction of the Polish and Lithuanian borders.

During the weekend, 40 people hospitalized in the isolation hospital of Grodno were diagnosed as suffering from meningitis. As of Monday, the number of meningitis sufferers has reached 136, including 127 children.

The source of the outbreak is not clear, although it has been said that the virus spreads through drinking water. The Belarussian republican laboratory is expected to define the source of the infection on Monday.

It has been established through tests that the disease registered in Grodno is enteroviral and not very severe /it is definitely not meningococcic meningitis, which is a more dangerous virus/. 10 meningitis patients have already been discharged from hospital.