Russia Warns Travelers to Get Hepatitis Shots During Pride Season

Russia is warning travelers to Western Europe to get hepatitis vaccines during Pride season.

The Rospotrebnadzor -- also known as the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing -- posted the warning on its website Tuesday.

The notice referenced a European Center for Disease Prevention and Control report detailing a spike in hepatitis A among men who have sex with men in 15 European nations. It also referenced statistics from the World Health Organization concerning a similar increase in North and South America.

The Rospotrebnadzor warned against the "high" risk during Pride season this summer, when millions of LGBT people congregate, including the upcoming World Pride festival in Madrid. Although the recent outbreak is linked to sexual contact, even proximity to a Pride celebration is apparently justification for a state-sanctioned warning.

"During the period from June to September 2017 will be held several national and international parades of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, including the World Festival in Madrid from 23 June to 2 July 2017. It is expected that the event will be attended by up to two million people from around the world," the notice stated.

"Although the risk of transmission of hepatitis B virus and the food and water routes in Spain is assessed as low or moderate, probability of contact routes of transmission from person to person is assessed as high."

The European Court of Human Rights recently determined that Russia's "gay propaganda" law -- a series of rules that limits the visibility of LGBT people -- is discriminatory. The nation has codified anti-LGBT discrimination in recent years, in order to differentiate itself from Western nations, which it disparagingly refers to as "Gayropa."

Human rights groups have also criticized President Putin for a lack of action related to reports that gay and bisexual men are being killed in concentration camps in Chechnya, a Russian-controlled state.

Meanwhile, Russia has the fasting-growing HIV epidemic in the world, according to UNAIDS, in part because of the stigma attached to the virus as well as same-sex relationships.