Nalchik nurse sentenced to prison over accidental HIV, hepatitis infection of patients
The Nalchik City Court has sentenced 49-year-old nurse Marianna Aloeva of the private sanatorium Medis to four years in a general-regime penal colony over the infection of patients with acute viral hepatitis C and HIV.
The sentencing was reported by the Joint Press Service of the Judicial System of Kabarda–Balkaria on Monday.
According to the case materials, from September 2022 to November 2023, sanitary and epidemiological requirements were systematically violated while providing medical care at the private sanatorium in Nalchik. Investigators established that non-sterile medical devices were used at the facility, disinfection and sterilisation rules were not observed, and single-use instruments were repeatedly reused.
As a result of these violations, 71 patients were infected with acute viral hepatitis C, according to the investigation. A further five people were diagnosed with HIV after receiving treatment at the sanatorium. Law enforcement agencies had previously reported that the patients concerned had undergone medical procedures involving invasive procedures.
The case involved 65-year-old sanatorium director Ruslan Ozrokov, 69-year-old neurologist and neuropathologist Mukhadin Uzdenov, and Aloeva. All three were initially charged with violating sanitary and epidemiological rules resulting in the mass illness of people through negligence. In addition, Aloeva faced a separate charge of infecting another person with HIV as a result of improper performance of her professional duties.
Aloeva’s verdict has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed in accordance with the established procedure.
At the same time, Ozrokov’s and Uzdenov’s criminal prosecution was terminated. As the court stated, this decision was taken due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal liability under the relevant article.
It was also previously reported that the licence of the Medis sanatorium to carry out medical activities had been revoked in September 2024. The institution lost the right to provide medical services after numerous violations of sanitary standards and safety requirements were identified.
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 the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor).
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, Kabarda–Balkaria’s Health Ministry 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 would 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.
Elizaveta Chukharova
