Hepatitis epidemic in Kyrgyzstan

An outbreak of viral hepatitis in Kyrgyzstan, mainly affecting schoolchildren, is being described as the worst in thirty years.

The Itar-Tass news agency reports that all secondary schools in the capital, Bishkek, will remain closed until next week.

According to the Ministry of Health, twenty-two thousand people are registered as suffering from the illness.

The ministry's chief specialist Inna Chernova told the Reuters newsagency that the disease had spread because of poor sanitation at many of the schools.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service