MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti) - The official number of swine flu cases in Russia has grown by 130 cases in 24 hours to total 1,174, and shows the spread of the virus within the country, the top sanitary official said on Saturday.
"As of today [Saturday], we have registered 1,174 cases, with 594 infections acquired abroad. This means that the circulation of the virus in Russia has already begun," Gennady Onishchenko said.
No official deaths from swine flu have been registered so far in Russia.
Onishchenko said that Russia continued vaccination against seasonal flu, covering over 18 million people or 13% of the Russian population.
As of Friday, 414,000 laboratory confirmed cases of swine flu and nearly 5,000 deaths throughout the world were reported by the World Health Organization.
