MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's health ministry denied on Monday reports of Russia's first swine flu fatality, saying the cause of death was pneumonia.
A leading Russian virologist earlier told national media that a woman had died of swine flu on August 19 after returning to Moscow from Bulgaria.
"Not a single lethal case of the A/H1N1 virus has been registered in Russia," Deputy Health and Social Development Minister Veronika Skvortsova told reporters.
She said the 46-year-old female medic died of "acute pneumonia, aggravated by a congenital heart defect and diabetes".
The official said tests "did not reveal a connection between the A/H1N1 virus, and no such conclusion was reached."
Skvortsova said that after the woman's return from Bulgaria, she was admitted to a pulmonary ward, and was discharged of her own accord on August 12. Several days later she was admitted to intensive care, where she died on August 19.
She said the virologist who diagnosed the woman with swine flu was not officially registered in Russia, and had not been instructed to conduct any examinations.
There are currently 381 swine flu cases officially registered in Russia, according to health ministry data.
The World Health Organization said in a report last Friday that more than 4,000 people have died from swine flu worldwide, with the total number of officially confirmed cases at 295,000.
