Employees of Nalchik sanatorium accused of infecting patients with HIV and hepatitis C

The local Prosecutor’s Office has accused a sanatorium in Kabarda–Balkaria of mass infecting its patients by violating sanitary and epidemiological regulations. At least 71 patients were infected with hepatitis C, and an additional five patients with HIV.

According to the investigation, the infections occurred between September 2022 and November 2023 at the Medis sanatorium. The Prosecutor’s Office now intends to take the case to court.

According to Russia’s Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor), at least 272 people across Russia – relatives of those treated at the sanatorium in Nalchik — are still at risk of infection.

The investigative authorities said the Medis sanatorium systematically used non-sterile medical instruments, re-used disposable items, and did not follow disinfection and sterilisation requirements. In addition, patients were not subjected to mandatory control for acute infectious diseases before any procedures were carried out.

In connection with the alleged violations, the general director of the sanatorium, a neurologist, and a nurse were charged with criminal responsibility for causing mass illness through negligence. The nurse is also being charged with infecting another person with HIV due to improper performance of her professional duties.

The names of those being charged have not yet been officially disclosed, but based on previous reporting, OC Media can report that the defendants are Medis director Ruslan Ozrokov, 65, neurologist and neuropathologist Mukhadin Uzdenov, 69, and nurse Marianna Aloeva, 49.

The Medis sanatorium was located on the third floor of the former Olympus sanatorium building in Nalchik. The facility provided paid medical services to patients from across Russia.

According to Russian law, Medis was inspected every four years by Rospotrebnadzor. In September 2024, the sanatorium’s medical licence was revoked, and the institution ceased operations.

On Tuesday, the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty reported that the only nurse working at the clinic allegedly lived at the sanatorium, where she kept meat and other products in the refrigerator meant for the storage of medicine.

According to the newspaper, the Kabarda–Balkaria’s Ministry of Health told the infected patients that the clinic was private and therefore had nothing to do with the department, while the regional department of Rospotrebnadzor advised them to seek help three months after the acute phase of the disease had passed. If the hepatitis becomes chronic during this time, the patients will be registered separately to the current queue of patients suffering from hepatitis C. In the meantime, the affected patients were told that they should look into treatment at their own expense.

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