Measles suspected in child who arrived in Chita from Tajikistan
A suspected measles infection in a child who arrived from Tajikistan to Chita was registered on January 19, according to the Telegram channel of the regional office of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) in Zabaikalsky Krai.
According to the channel, medical workers in Chita are currently carrying out anti-epidemic measures regarding contacts in the residential building at 45 Zabaikalskogo Rabochego Street, where the sick individual resides. They are also working with discharged patients from the Regional Clinical Infectious Disease Hospital to verify if they have measles vaccinations.
Furthermore, specialists are working with contacts who arrived in Chita from Novosibirsk on January 16, 2026, on S7 Airlines flight No. 5223.
The anti-epidemic measures include identifying among the contacts: unvaccinated individuals; persons with no immunization records; and those with a single measles vaccination who need to be immunized against measles regardless of age based on epidemiological indications to prevent repeated cases of the disease.
«We ask you to treat the situation with understanding and assist medical workers in conducting medical examinations, observation, and immunization against measles. In the absence of data on immunization against measles, it is possible to conduct a blood test for measles antibodies (immunoglobulin class G); if the result is negative, immunization against measles is necessary,» the message states.
The causative agent of measles is a virus. The source of infection is a sick person who sheds the virus into the environment through sneezing, coughing, and speaking from the last two days of the incubation period until the fourth day after the rash appears. The measles virus is highly volatile and can spread through ventilation pipes and elevator shafts — simultaneously infecting non-immune children and adults living on different floors of a building. If a person who has not had measles or is not vaccinated communicates with a sick person, the probability of infection approaches 100%.
The illness begins with a temperature rising to 38–39°C (100.4–102.2°F) or higher. Appetite decreases, and sleep is disturbed. A runny nose, sneezing, reddened conjunctiva, watery eyes, photophobia, and a dry, harsh «barking» cough appear. Against the background of increasing all symptoms of the disease, a rash begins to spread in stages. Measles is dangerous due to its complications. In particularly severe cases, hearing loss, blindness, and intellectual disability can develop. Measles can be a cause of mortality and disability, especially among young children.
