Surge in Parasite Infections in Small Russian Coal Town Blamed on Influx of North Korean Workers

Local health authorities in a small Russian coal-mining town have pointed to an influx of North Korean workers as the cause behind a sharp surge in parasitic infections, NK News, a U.S.-based North Korean affairs media outlet, reported on the 25th local time.

According to a 2025 epidemiological report recently released by health authorities in Russia's Rostov Oblast, cases of soil-transmitted parasitic infections such as trichuriasis and ascariasis, as well as metagonimiasis and clonorchiasis linked to consuming raw fish, are on the rise, identifying the increase in North Korean migrant workers as the cause of the spread.

In the region, there were no reported cases of trichuriasis in 2021, only 1 case each in 2022 and 2023, and just 3 cases in 2024.

However, cases of trichuriasis surged to 68 last year.

Ascariasis cases stood at 17 in 2023 and 25 in 2024, but increased to 54 in 2025.

Whipworms and roundworms inhabit the human intestines, leave the body through excrement, and then spread via soil, food, and water.

They frequently occur when human feces are used as fertilizer or under poor sanitary conditions.

Rostov health authorities pointed out that out of the 68 trichuriasis cases discovered last year, 67 occurred in Shakhty, a coal-mining town located about 45 miles (approx. 72 km) northeast of the regional capital, Rostov-on-Don.

Infections of metagonimiasis and clonorchiasis also increased significantly in the town of Shakhty.

In Rostov Oblast, three cases of metagonimiasis were reported in 2025, all of which came from Shakhty, and 8 out of 17 clonorchiasis cases were also reported from this town.

NK News pointed out that Rostov Oblast's epidemiological report comes amid a large-scale influx of North Korean workers into Russia.

Russia issued 36,000 student visas to North Koreans in 2025.

The international community views this as one of North Korea's means to earn foreign currency by circumventing UN sanctions and disguising workers under student status.

This is not the first time Russian authorities have pointed out the health conditions of North Korean workers.

NK News reported that when tuberculosis broke out in Moscow between 2024 and 2025, Russian authorities demanded mandatory tuberculosis treatment for North Korean workers.

Sunday, a Russia expert at Korea's Dongseo University, said the North Korean regime would find the report embarrassing, adding, "There are undoubtedly more cases."

(File Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.