Oct 27, 2009, 13:04 GMT
Moscow - Russia reported its first swine-flu fatalities, with at least four people dead in Moscow and the far east of the country, the Interfax news agency said Tuesday.
A pregnant 29-year-old and a 50-year-old woman were among three people who died of the H1N1 strain of the flu in the south-east Siberian city of Chita, said the country's top medical official, Gennady Onishchenko.
A 53-year-old woman died in the capital, Moscow, the official said.
The government has reported 1,349 cases of swine flu, but experts said they believe the number is much higher.
Onishchenko said both women who died in Siberia also suffered from pneumonia. The unborn child of the younger woman could not be saved, he said.
Officials have ordered the complete or partial closure of hundreds of kindergartens, schools and universities across the country.
Onishchenko recommended that people wear surgical masks in heavily populated areas in order to lower the risk of infection.
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