Swine flu: Death toll rises to 14 in Russia

The death toll from the rapidly spreading swine flu in Russia has risen to 14, with 3,122 people having been confirmed as suffering from the A/H1N1 virus, Russian Deputy Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova has said.

''So far, 3,122 A/H1N1 flu cases have been registered in Russia.

Today, 1,200 are infected, and the rest have already recovered,'' Ms Skvortsova told RIA Novosti.

The number of H1N1 flu cases in Russia began growing considerably in October, traditionally the time for a seasonal flu outbreak. The country's first swine flu death was reported on October 27.

Russian consumer rights watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor earlier said 10 Russians had died of the pandemic virus till November 1.

Currently, the cold and flu rate in Moscow twice exceeds the epidemic level, the city department of the Federal Consumer Rights and Human Well Being Service said. A total of 166,000 Muscovites, 105,700 of them children, contracted the infection over the past week. The sickness rate grew 57.2 per cent compared to the previous week or exceeded last year's indicator by 2.6 times. A total of 2,308 patients, among them 1,276 children, were hospitalised. Regular and A/H1N1 flu makes up 3.4 per cent of all cases. City residents were being inoculated against regular flu. As of November 2, the inoculation had been given to almost 1.7 million, including 848,100 children. The staff of Moscow shops and pharmacies were compelled to wear flu masks by a resolution of city chief public health official Nikolai Filatov, a source at the city department of the Federal Consumer Rights and Human Well Being Service told Itar-Tass. Besides, no visitors were permitted in hospitals, boarding schools and orphanages. Polyclinic doctors were recommended to visit their patients at home. There would be daily medical checkups of school children, college students and teachers in order to prevent the spread of cold and flu. Public events would also be limited. The cold and flu rate in Moscow twice exceeds the epidemic level, the city department of the Federal Consumer Rights and Human Well Being Service said yesterday.

A total of 166,000 Muscovites, 105,700 of them children, contracted the infection over the past week. Meanwhile, a total of 81 people have died of flu-like diseases in the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine, the country's chief sanitary doctor Oleksandr Bilovol said today.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said 71 people had died of acute respiratory illness in the country. The health ministry said on Monday 255,000 flu cases had been reported in the country, with 15,000 receiving treatment in hospital.

''Over 478,000 people have fallen ill, 81 died,'' Mr Bilovol said.

He said 14 confirmed swine flu cases have been registered in the country and three of them have been fatal.

President Viktor Yuschenko has requested help from other countries over the outbreak.

-- (UNI) -- 04DF4.xml

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