Flu epidemic kills 20 in St. Petersburg
The death toll from the flu epidemic in Russia’s second
largest city of St. Petersburg has reached 20, a local health official said on
Monday.
"The number of flu lethal cases was 15 on Friday and at
least five more deaths were registered over the weekend," said Tatiana
Zasukhina, a deputy head of the city’s health committee, reports Tass.
The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer
Rights announced a flu epidemic in St Petersburg on January 22.
"Between January 11 and January 17, 2016, influenza and
other acute respiratory diseases have exceeded the epidemic threshold by 30 percent for the entire population," the service said in a statement.
According to the health committee, some 11,000-12,000 people
get infected with flu every day in St. Petersburg and at least 7,000 of them
are children.
"We are in the epidemic status now," Zasukhina
said.
"If the things follow the classic scenario of the flu
epidemic, this week and the next one will be the hardest. Then the recession
may be expected."
However, the situation may follow a different scenario
because of swine flu (virus A/H1N1). All hospitals in the city have prolonged
working hours, Zasukhina said. Students of medical universities will be helping
doctors.
"We are expecting some 200 students to assist doctors
today," she said.
Comments
Post a Comment