Russia apparently sent soldiers infected with hepatitis to war

Russian soldiers in the Kursk region: Recruits infected with hepatitis are also said to be going to the front lineImage: trapezoid

The Kremlin has a severe shortage of frontline personnel. Now, apparently anyone with the hepatitis C virus can go to war.

An article by

t-online

Huge losses on the Ukraine war front could force Russia to take more drastic measures to replenish its forces. As many as 1,200 soldiers were killed in a single day; 615,000 soldiers are said to have been killed in Moscow since the attacks in Ukraine. According to the New York Times, American experts estimate that 115,000 of them were killed.

So far, Putin, the ruler, has not launched a full-scale mobilization, but he is leaving no stone unturned to send new people to the front lines. At first, he allowed felons to swap cells with trenches. Now the Russian military has apparently gone one step further.

Ukraine's military intelligence service HUR reports that infection with the hepatitis C virus is no longer a reason to reject a soldier's application. According to Ukraine's “New Voice of Ukraine”, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belusov also issued corresponding orders.

Companies with infected people

Therefore, Russian recruits will receive a hepatitis B vaccination before deployment and then receive hepatitis C antiviral medication. “According to the estimates of the Russian leadership, this new mobilization decision will allow them to use thousands of prisoners to carry out attack missions against Ukraine,” the Ukrainian said. intelligence officials reported.

Detention centers and prisons in the Central Military District of the Russian Armed Forces apparently house up to 10,000 prisoners infected with hepatitis. According to the Ukrainian Secret Service, about 15% of them reported for military service.

This information cannot be independently verified. It is said that the company where the infected person belongs is stationed in Luhansk and Donetsk.

Transmitted only from person to person through blood

Hepatitis is spread from person to person through blood, can be passed on to an unborn baby, and can also be spread through poor hygiene during injections. The latter is especially common among drug users.

The Robert Koch Institute writes:

“Depending on the concentration of the virus in the blood, hepatitis C virus can also be detected in other body fluids, such as saliva, sweat, tears and semen. However, infection through these body fluids is very unlikely.”

Sexual transmission of HCV is often possible. However, studies conducted so far suggest that the risk of transmission is generally low. About the course of the disease:

According to the RKI, about 75% of infected people do not have any obvious clinical symptoms during the infection, or are only accompanied by non-specific influenza-like symptoms.
Approximately 60% to 85% of infections become chronic.
About 16% to 20% of people with chronic hepatitis C will develop cirrhosis, a gradual loss of liver function, after 20 years.

On the war front, the virus can also be spread through poorly controlled blood transfusions. Many soldiers were injured by grenades and lost excessive blood. If blood donations are not adequately screened in field hospitals, hepatitis C virus can spread rapidly.