Russia on Tuesday reported its first confirmed deaths from swine flu since the disease developed into a global epidemic this year. The victims were two women, aged 29 and 50, who died last month in a hospital in Chita, a Siberian city near the Mongolian border, Russia"s top epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko said. The younger woman was more than eight months pregnant and doctors were unable to save the baby, Russian news agencies reported, citing regional officials. Russia reported its first confirmed case of swine flu in May, and there are now more than 1,300 registered cases. The worst-hit regions are in Russia"s east, along the Mongolian and Chinese borders and Pacific coast, Onishchenko said. Classrooms and in some cases entire schools have been closed in many regions across the country. In Moscow, the closures have affected more than 5,000 children. The World Health Organization said last week that about 5,000 people have been reported as having died from swine flu worldwide. --SPA
