Moscow incurs $1 bln in annual economic damage from flu
MOSCOW. Feb 1 (Interfax) - The flu seriously damages the Moscow city economy, Moscow chief public health official Yelena Andreyeva said at the Friday meeting of the city government.
"The economic damage incurred from the flu stood at 29.4 billion rubles in 2011," she said.
"Considering megalopolis peculiarities, high population density and intensive migration, Moscow has always had a flu rate 1.5-2 times higher than the Russian average," she noted.
The city has had numerous cold and flu cases in the 2012-2013 epidemic season, the official said.
"Some 1.277 million people have fallen sick this cold and flu season; we have 493 flu cases," Andreyeva said.
The cold and flu rate grew by 13.9% and 13.7% respectively since the previous epidemic season.
"We are expecting an increase [in the cold and flu rate] next week," the head of the Rospotrebnadzor Moscow department said.
Laboratories diagnosed flu types as mostly H1N1, virus