INTERFAX reports:

MOSCOW. Jan 24 (Interfax) - One hundred thirty-three people, including 14 children, have been hospitalized in the Lipetsk and Voronezh regions with hemorrhagic fever, the information department at the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry told Interfax on Wednesday. The number of people with symptoms of hemorrhagic fever seeking medical assistance began to grow in September in the Voronezh region and in December in the Lipetsk region. "The situation was caused by an increase in the number of rodents due to favorable weather conditions, which resulted in an ample food supply in that period," the ministry said.