Chelyabinsk residents report strange infection, question Nipah virus link

In January, residents of Chelyabinsk began falling victim to an unexplained infection: many complain of poor health, difficulty breathing, and sore throat, but without high fever. Doctors do not recommend self-treatment. We asked specialists what this could be? Has the Indian Nipah virus reached the Southern Urals?

“I hope I get off lightly”

Before they could get back into the work rhythm after the holidays, Chelyabinsk residents are mass staying home. The culprit is a strange virus. The symptoms described by those who fell ill are largely similar.

“Half of my colleagues are already down, and today I stayed home too,” says 74.RU reader Maria. “At first, my throat started to feel scratchy, I began sneezing, my nose itched endlessly, and in the evening, weakness set in. The next day — temperature 37°C (99°F), stuffy nose, swollen. Then my head started hurting badly, even ‘Nurofen’ doesn’t help.”

The same thing was felt by Anna two days ago:

“At first, I thought I caught a chill from the air conditioner at the gym, exactly a day after training my throat hurt and a runny nose started. The next night I hardly slept due to sore throat, it felt as if a bucket of sand had been poured there. My nose is also all raw. Usually, snot runs like a stream, but this time — congestion. At the same time, there’s practically no temperature, 37–37.1°C (99–99°F) maximum. I’m sitting at home, thank god, so far no one close has gotten sick. I wouldn’t want them to experience such unpleasant symptoms.”

Another reader, Oleg, also complains of strange sore throat.

“During the day, there are almost no symptoms except for a feeling of sickness and weakness, at night my throat starts hurting badly, in the morning — runny nose. By noon, the symptoms pass, and the next day everything starts anew, and it’s been like this for five days already,” he says. “My wife fell ill along the way, she has a severe runny nose, weakness.”

“There was a slight temperature at the very beginning, 37.3°C (99°F). My throat was ticklish, head hurt,” writes Yulia. “And now only runny nose and sneezing, but for some reason the condition is very painful.”

According to the Southern Ural branch of Rospotrebnadzor (the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing), for the fourth week of the year, from 19–25 January, about 18.5 thousand cases of ARVI were registered in the region — 55 per 10 thousand people. At the same time, at the end of 2025, the incidence was significantly higher: in the last week of December, there were almost 142 cases of ARVI per 10 thousand people. Why does it seem like people are falling ill en masse? It is possible that in December the statistics were greatly worsened by children, many schools even were closed for quarantine, and now there are far fewer students among the sick.

“There were many class cancellations due to frosts, accordingly, disconnection, and infections did not spread so strongly,” explains Elena Kopenko, a pediatrician at Children’s Polyclinic No. 9. “Of course, children get sick, but quite lightly, and there is no big flow yet.”

Moreover, all those who shared their stories with us preferred not to go to the polyclinic and not take sick leave.

“I thought, on Friday I’ll work from home, over the weekend I’ll rest up, but now where to,” says Oleg. “Especially since there’s no temperature, it’s somehow shameful to bother the doctor, and I don’t want to go myself into a hotbed of infection.”

“I know how to cope with the symptoms, I can work,” adds Anna. “If a cough starts or the temperature goes up, then I’ll see a doctor.”

Accordingly, 74.RU readers also prescribe treatment for themselves.

“I drink antivirals, vitamin C, just water with lemon, tea with rosehip, ginger. For throat — lozenges, for runny nose — spray. I try not to overexert myself,” writes Yulia.

Others, like Maria, rely entirely on their own immunity, vitamins and minerals:

“To be honest, I don’t even know what to treat with, but I hope I get off lightly. I’m physically active, recently finished a course of zinc, from the first symptoms I started drinking vitamin C,” she says.

“Better to understand exactly what’s going on”

Chelyabinsk doctors are not very concerned about the current situation: the infection described by our readers was called a common seasonal cold by Dmitry Logvinov, a therapist at City Hospital No. 8. But the doctor warned against self-treatment.

“This is not a mass epidemic after all, such a seasonal viral infection is going around. They take antivirals in such cases. But it’s still better to see a doctor, even if the symptoms are not very serious, other diseases can be masked behind them. It’s better to get examined in time, take tests, to understand exactly what’s going on,” he emphasized.

Severe sore throat is called one of the signs of infection with the Indian Nipah virus, for which there is neither vaccine nor treatment. But otherwise, there is no similarity between it and the Chelyabinsk outbreak: key symptoms of Nipah according to WHO (World Health Organization) are fever (i.e., very high temperature), muscle and headaches.

“No cases of importation of the disease caused by the Nipah virus have been registered on the territory of Russia. The RF has a sufficient number of test systems for timely laboratory diagnosis of the virus, at border checkpoints the AIS ‘Perimeter’ system is functioning, the system allows in real time to identify citizens with signs of infectious diseases and prevent further spread of diseases on the country’s territory,” the federal Rospotrebnadzor reported recently.

Nevertheless, according to the Southern Ural Rospotrebnadzor, the assortment of all kinds of infections in the Chelyabinsk region is now large: laboratory tests register respiratory syncytial (causing pneumonia and bronchitis), adenovirus and rhinovirus infections, as well as Hong Kong flu A H3N2.

“Isolated cases of influenza A H1N1, influenza B and COVID-19 are detected,” the department added.

The chief physician of City Clinical Hospital No. 1, Dmitry Tarasov, reminded that flu is easily distinguished from ARVI at the very beginning of the illness.

“Flu — is acute onset, high temperature, chills, headache, muscle pain, sudden weakness. ARVI starts with catarrhal symptoms — runny nose, sore throat, cough, tickling, with flu they join later,” Dmitry Tarasov said.

According to doctors’ forecasts, a new peak of incidence is traditionally expected in February. Those who do not burn with desire to join the sick are advised by medics not to forget about the good old hand washing and masks in public places, as well as to adhere to simple rules for strengthening immunity.

“Adhere to proper nutrition, consume fruits, vegetables, greens, probiotic-rich products — yogurts, kefir, sauerkraut. Maintain an active lifestyle, walk more in the fresh air, get enough sleep, drink enough fluids — juices, fruit drinks, herbal teas,” Rospotrebnadzor specialists recommend.