Influenza is reported in big Russia cities

MOSCOW, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Russian officials Monday reported the beginning of an influenza epidemic in three Russian megalopolises: Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Khabarovsk.

The head of the Russian State Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspection, Galina Lazikova, told the Novosti news agency the morbidity rates in St. Petersburg and Khabarovsk have exceeded the epidemic threshold by as much as 30 percent.

He said young children fewer than two years of age and children in the 7-to-14-year range make up the majority of patients.