Russia urges mass vaccination as flu spreads

AFP/Moscow Russia’s top health official has warned that swine flu was spreading within the country and urged Russians to get vaccinations. “I think that by the end of today we will have reported around at least five or six more (people) whom we have confirmed as sick” with the A(H1N1) virus, Gennady Onishchenko, Russia’s public health chief, said. “We have registered an increase, a sharp increase in the number of individuals whom we ... certify as sick,” he said at a news conference. Onishchenko warned that infection with the virus may spike in the autumn as Russians return from holidays and urged the population to get vaccinated. “I advise maximum vaccination,” he said. The total number of swine flu cases registered in Russia since late May has reached nine so far, authorities said. All the sick Russians contracted the virus while travelling abroad, Onishchenko said. He warned that the virus was propagating further within Russia and said contamination was possible within the country. “The virus is now not just Moscow’s concern but also that of the regions” outside the capital, Onishchenko said. Confirmed or suspected cases have been registered in the country’s five regions, including the cities of Saint Petersburg, Tomsk in Siberia and Perm in the Urals, he said. “We should be getting ready to register these cases. There’s no need to make a tragedy or panic out of it.” He also said mass production of swine flu vaccine should be launched by September, noting Russia could produce 40mn doses. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday that swine flu is moving around the globe at “unprecedented speed.” WHO said it would not longer keep track of total numbers of cases worldwide but would instead focus on new outbreaks.