This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the alleged “cholera viruses” found in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions are associated with the activities of US biological laboratories in Ukraine. The authors argue that the outbreak occurred with a “leak of viruses” in a biological laboratory in Odesa, built in violation of safety requirements.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case, explaining that cholera is not a viral, but a bacterial disease, and therefore “cholera viruses” simply do not exist. And as of the beginning of July 2023, not a single case of cholera infection was recorded in Ukraine. For other infectious diseases, the department of the Ministry of Health explained that the risk of their outbreak is increasing, but at present, enhanced epidemiological surveillance is being carried out in the affected areas. The Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Ihor Kuzin spoke about a number of regular measures to combat cholera and about innovations introduced after the Russians undermined the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

To counter the outbreak of infectious diseases in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson regions, 38 water monitoring points were opened. Also, in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, the centers for disease control and prevention have been transferred to a special response mode.

That is, the thesis about the so-called “biological laboratories” is also unfounded. Propagandists systematically speculate on this topic in order to intimidate Ukrainians.