In late July 2007, the town was hit by an outburst of atypical pneumonia, with 200 infected and 170 death cases. According to the official information, the infection was caused by Legionella pneumophila virus, which spread through the water supply network. However, there was much speculation that biological warfare (similarly to Sverdlovsk anthrax leak in 1979), or the pollution from chemical industry, is responsible for the infection.