PHOTOS: Warming Threatens Lifestyle of Russian Herders 
 
 Temperatures in the Yamal tundra above the Arctic Circle have hit highs of 95 degrees this summer, compared to an average of 77 degrees. Sergei Karpukhin / REUTERS FILE 
 
 A state of emergency has been imposed throughout the region in western Siberia due to the incident — the first of its kind since 1941.  MOSCOW — Thirteen members of a nomadic Siberian community have been hospitalized after a heat wave thawed the carcass of an anthrax-infected reindeer and sparked an outbreak of the disease. The carcass of a reindeer thought to have died from anthrax decades ago thawed and released the bacteria, sending the disease rippling through a population of animals already weakened by unusually high temperatures, according to local officials. On Tuesday, Kobylkin said “all measures” had been taken to isolate the area, according to AP. “Now the most important thing is the safety and health of our fellow countrymen — the reindeer herders and specialists involved in the quarantine.” 
 
 Anthrax has broken out in Russia several times, including one outbreak stemming from a 1979 accident at a military facility.
– After decades spent trapped inside a frozen reindeer carcass, anthrax is back to wreak havoc on Siberia, the Washington Post reports. Siberia hadn't had an anthrax outbreak since 1941. But, according to NBC News, approximately 1,500 reindeer have been killed by the bacterium since Sunday and 13 members of the nomadic Nenet community have been hospitalized. Four of those who have been hospitalized are children. Authorities believe the new outbreak started when the carcass of an infected reindeer, frozen for decades, thawed during the Yamolo-Nenets region's unusually warm summer. Temperatures have risen to highs of 95 degrees this summer—nearly 20 degrees above the average. Authorities in the area ceased vaccinating reindeer against anthrax a decade ago because it had been more than 50 years since an outbreak. But scientists estimate the bacterium can survive being frozen in Siberia's permafrost for more than a century. A state of emergency has been declared in the region. Dozens of people are being relocated, and the Nenet community, which relies on herding reindeer, may be quarantined until September. A mass vaccination of reindeer is underway. "We have taken all measures to isolate the area," the region's governor says, per the AP. "Now the most important thing is the safety and health of our fellow countrymen." (In Finland, reindeer glow in the dark.)