Swine flu death cases reach 1,500

"As of August 7, the total number of laboratory confirmed human cases of swine flu caused by the A/H1N1 virus has reached 202,151, including 1,550 lethal cases, according to data from World Health Organization regional bureaus," the statement said.

On Thursday, the number of deaths from swine flu stood at 1,444, the watchdog reported.

Russian sanitary officials are continuing with checks on the condition of airline passengers who arrive from countries with confirmed cases of swine flu.

The consumer watchdog said that in the previous 24 hours it had examined about 14,000 passengers and 880 crew members on 124 flights arriving at 17 Russian airports from North, South and Central America, Spain, Japan, the Dominican Republic, China, Thailand, Cyprus, Britain and Turkey. Transit flights are also being checked.

Since the beginning of monitoring the consumer watchdog has examined over 10,000 flights, about 840,000 passengers and over 67,000 crew members, officials said.

Russian health officials said on Monday that the number of confirmed swine flu cases in Russia had reached 55.

One more case has been officially confirmed in the city of Lipetsk, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) south of Moscow. Local sanitary officials said on Friday that a 16-year-old had returned from Malta with symptoms of the disease.

/Vzqlyad/