Children infected with syphilis in kindergarten

Several children were infected with syphilis in their kindergarten in Berezniki, the Perm region of Russia. The prosecutor's office has already launched investigation into this incident, reports Neva24.

The incident was made public when a member of the online discussion board of the city of Berezniki wrote that at kindergarten No. 58, where her granddaughter goes, the children had to take a Wasserman blood test. The test showed that 10 children were sick with syphilis economica, The Moskovsky Komsomolets wrote. The woman also wrote on the board that all the infected children were receiving stationary medical treatment.  

The Committee for Education of the municipal administration neither confirmed nor denied the information. Tatiana Mukhatayeva, an official spokeswoman for the administration, said she did not have any information about the incident.

"We are aware of the situation, we are investigating it. However, we are unable to provide more detailed information on the matter for the time being," she said.

Tatiana Shuvalova, a senior medical specialist of the Moscow Regional STI Clinic told Pravda.Ru that the information had to be investigated and verified. "During more than 40 years of my work experience, I have never come across any incidents of domestic infection of children in day care centers. This has to be investigated thoroughly. It sounds implausible ... 10 infected children in a kindergarten - I've never heard anything like this before. It is hard to imagine under which circumstances children could be infected with syphilis in a kindergarten," said Tatiana Shuvalova.

Non-sexual ways of transmitting syphilis are extremely rare. It requires a close contact with patients having tertiary syphilis, who has open syphilis sores or decaying syphilomas from which the pathogen can enter, for example, a cup, from which the patient drank, says Wikipedia. The list of risk factors includes towels, spoons, toothbrushes, underwear and other items that come into contact with the mucous membrane.