03 November, 2009 in Russian Newspapers

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Tested by the virus

By Andrey Kulikov, Irina Shterman (Chita – Irkutsk) Elvira Novikova and Yulia Potapova

Gennady Onishchenko approved the actions of Trans-Baikal doctors.

Russia’s chief sanitary doctor, Gennady Onishchenko, visited the Trans-Baikal Krai, where the first A/H1N1 deaths had been recorded.

The head of the Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Consumers Protection) visited several pharmacies and hospitals, spoke with doctors and patients, and then held a private meeting with regional authorities. Additional measures of fighting the seasonal flu and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) were discussed. Onishchenko approved the epidemic fighting methods that had been selected by the regional government.

“The measures that have been enforced in the region are adequate in the current situation,” he said. “Quarantine, which had been introduced in schools since October 20, prohibition to hold large public events, and introduction of a mask regime, significantly reduced the number of infections. Moreover, drug supplies are constantly monitored in the region; an additional number of beds has been provided by the hospitals. So, those who are infected, have the opportunity to receive necessary treatment.”

The head of Rospotrebnadzor noted that working hours at clinics have been extended to 9:00 p.m. and shuttle buses are being used as additional emergency vehicles. According to him, these methods can successfully be implemented in other regions. And, according to the head of Rospotrebnadzor, doctors cannot be held responsible for the lethal cases (remember that three women have died from swine flu in the Trans-Baikal Krai).

“These patients were engaged in self-treatment; and, at the time they sought professional help, it was simply too late. Highly pathogenic influenza is a disease that calls for meticulous treatment.”

Swine flu vaccinations are expected to begin in early November, almost a month ahead of schedule. Representatives of the Irkutsk bacterial preparations factory – a branch of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, Microgen – told Rossiyskaya Gazeta (RG) that the first batches of A/H1N1 vaccine are ready and are being packaged. Ten million doses are expected to be produced by the end of the year. In Irkutsk, live vaccine is being produced, which can be used intranasally. The drug immediately creates a protective barrier, because the flu virus is transmitted through airborne droplets.

In Irkutsk, the vaccine will not be found in pharmacies; instead it will be administered in clinics. The first to be vaccinated are children and pregnant women, then those who are in high-risk categories - health workers and social workers, schoolchildren and students, as well as military personnel and transport system personnel.

Meanwhile

Of the five deaths caused by the A/H1N1 virus that have been reported so far in Russia, four occurred in Siberia. As of November 2, more than 700 cases of swine flu have been recorded in the Siberian Federal District. The epidemic is spreading rapidly. Two days ago, 31 new cases were recorded in the Novosibirsk Oblast. Victims are mainly children under the age of 17.

The highly pathogenic flu arrived in Siberia from the East -- according to most experts, from China.

According to recent statistics, in the Saratov Oblast, there were 41 people infected with swine flu, most of them children. The diagnosis has been confirmed. The outbreak of the virus occurred before the school holidays. Currently, High School Number 1 and School Number 83 are under quarantine. However, the Deputy Head of Rospotrebnadzor, Galina Babich, told RG that swine flu wasn’t the reason for the quarantine, but the fact that in both schools, the percentage of SARS cases had exceeded 30%.

In Kuzbass, laboratory tests confirmed six residents to be infected with the A/H1N1 virus: five kids aged 11 to 17 years and one five-year-old child. They are all from the Tisulsky district. According to Rospotrebnadzor, 10 people sought help from the Central District Hospital in Bolshoy Berchikul, but swine flu had not been confirmed in four of the patients.

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Terror has a feminine face

Mikhail Lukanin (North Caucasus)

Half of the graduates of terrorist school are young women.

In the North Caucasus, terrorists let their presence be known – this time in Dagestan. Yesterday, in the city of Khasavyurt, special forces destroyed three militants, including one female suicide bomber. A day earlier, a local Imam was killed in the Kizilyurt district. According to Trud’s sources, among the assassins were graduates of the Caucasus terrorist school. Militants have been actively recruiting female suicide bombers by buying them from their families for $3,000.

It was revealed yesterday that a 34-year-old Imam, Tinmagomed Razmanov, of the Bavtugay village in the Kizilyurt district, was recently shot next to his mosque. He was on his way home after evening prayers when he suffered several gun shots from unidentified gunmen. The Imam died in the ambulance. Authorities were unable to capture the perpetrators.

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Programmer – terrorist

Maria Grishina (Jerusalem)

Israeli authorities found killers of Arabs and a Russian-speaking Jewish family.

In Israel, 37-year-old Jewish terrorist Yaakov (Jack) Teitel has been arrested. He is suspected of killing two Palestinians in 1997, as well as committing hate crimes against homosexuals, representatives of Israel’s leftist parties, and Messianic Jews. Teitel was detained on October 7, but the Israeli police barred making any information pertaining to the case public, fearing that publicity might prevent capturing the terrorist’s accomplices. Today, the police came to the conclusion that Teitel acted alone.

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