Swine flu virus spreads across Russia: Watchdog chief

Russia's Chief Sanitary Doctor Anna Popova said today that the weekly flu and acute respiratory infection epidemic threshold has been exceeded in 13 Russia regions. 

"In early December, A(H1N1) strains accounted for four per cent of the overall flu cases. The figure grew to seven per cent after December 15 and to 24 per cent by January 4. As of today, the occurrence of swine flu strains is 42 per cent," Popova said at a press conference.

"Threshold excess figure vary in a range from 11 to 13.5 per cent. It happens every year, so there is nothing untypical about it," she said. 

The epidemic threshold among children under two has been exceeded in 17 Russian regions, among pre-schoolers in 12 region, among schoolchildren in eight regions, and among adults in seven regions.

The flu epidemic is expected to peak in late January and February, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said. 

According to the World Health Organisation, about 80 per cent of viruses spreading this year in Europe and Russia are viruses of type A(H1N1). A number of swine flu-related deaths have already been registered in Russia, Tass said.