Possible flu outbreak in Russia has authorities preparing for the worst

• Russia's regions are poising for a flu pandemic, the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being (Rospotrebnadzor) reported Tuesday.
• "Russian Chief Sanitary Officer Gennady Onishchenko has issued a directive On Preparations for a Possible Flu Pandemic," a reported forwarded to RIA Novosti reads.
• Particularly, the directive mentions that the World Health Organisation (WHO) "foresees an advent of a new antigenic strain of the flu virus in the near future, which may result in a large-scale flu pandemic including a four-to-fivefold hike in the sickness rate and a five-to-tenfold increase in the death rate.
• To prevent or reduce the damage to the public health and national economy from the new flu virus, the Onishchenko-led team believes it is time for setting up regional committees to prepare for the flu pandemic.
• Accordingly, the Russian regional chief sanitary officers and heads of public health services have been ordered to calculate the necessary quantity of vaccines against the new flu and emergency medications required.
• "Calculations are necessary for establishing an irreducible stockpile of specific flu prevention and chemotherapeutical drugs," the message stressed.
• In addition, Onishchenko believes, it is time to raise the issue of the feasibility of converting certain medical facilities and allocating additional hospital capacities for flu-stricken patients.