Russia anthrax outbreak infects 21

Russia on Tuesday confirmed 21 cases of anthrax, including one fatality, after an unusual heatwave melted permafrost in its remote far north, releasing potentially lethal spores from the soil. "Unfortunately 20 people had their (anthrax) diagnosis confirmed," a spokeswoman for the Yamalo-Nenetsky regional authorities told RIA Novosti news agency. It is the first outbreak of anthrax since 1941 in the region, which lies some 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) northeast of Moscow.