A sanitary and epidemiological investigation has been launched in St. Petersburg and Russia's Leningrad Region following reports of a possible case of mpox infection. Five people have been hospitalized and are under medical observation, according to the Interregional Office of Rospotrebnadzor for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.
"Following the receipt of information about a possible case of mpox, specialists from the Interregional Office of Rospotrebnadzor for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region immediately launched a sanitary and epidemiological investigation. A full range of anti-epidemic measures has been organized," the statement said.

According to the agency, epidemiologists are working to identify people who may have been in contact with the suspected case.
"Five people have been hospitalized and are under medical observation. An order has been issued to carry out disinfection measures," the statement added.

Rospotrebnadzor also noted that modern high-tech diagnostic test systems have been developed and officially registered for mpox, allowing the virus to be detected in the shortest possible time.
A day earlier, on October 15, five people in Russia's Moscow Region who had been in contact with a person suspected of having mpox were also hospitalized as a precaution.
According to the regional Health Ministry, the hospitalized individuals showed no symptoms of the disease, and their condition was assessed as satisfactory. They underwent testing and were placed under medical observation.
Mpox is a rare viral infectious disease that has historically been most common in certain parts of Central and West Africa.