A serious sanitary scandal is unfolding in the Lviv region. After a vacation at Zadorozhne Lake in the Stryi district, dozens of people were hospitalized with signs of acute intestinal infection. According to the latest data, the number of victims has reached 51, and the overwhelming majority of them are children.

Scale of the tragedy

As of the evening of July 7, 51 people sought medical attention in the region's healthcare facilities. The situation requires serious medical intervention: 49 patients were admitted to hospitals, while two children are receiving outpatient treatment. Among those hospitalized are 44 children.

Several medical institutions in the region were involved in accommodating the patients:

  • 35 patients, including 32 children, were admitted to the Lviv Regional Infectious Disease Hospital.
  • Two people, including one child, were taken to the infectious disease department of the Stryi District Medical Center.
  • Two more victims, one of whom is a child, were hospitalized at the Novorozdol City Hospital.

Culprit and government response

Specialists have already confirmed the nature of the pathogen: the cause of the mass illness was a rotavirus infection. The outbreak was detected at the end of June on the shoreline of Zadorozhne Lake, located near the villages of Drohovich and Verbez. The territory of the reservoir is under the jurisdiction of the Nikolayivka urban and Trostyantsia rural communities.

The Lviv Regional Military Administration (RMA) assured that the situation is under control by the sanitary and epidemiological service. However, the exact causes that led to such a mass infection are still being investigated.

Criminal proceedings

Following the incident, authorities took strict measures. Swimming in Zadorozhne Lake was prohibited. Law enforcement agencies opened a criminal case regarding the violation of sanitary rules and norms aimed at preventing infectious diseases and mass poisonings.

This incident once again highlights the importance of hygiene and caution when swimming in natural water bodies where water quality control may be insufficient.