Prepared for swine flu
Measures are being taken to prevent swine flu from entering Murmansk Oblast. Inspection of goods and people is intensified at customs stations in Murmansk harbor and at the Borisoglebsk border crossing point between Russia and Norway.
Murmansk Oblast, like the rest of Russia, is preparing for a possible outbreak of swine flu. Because of the region’s geographical location – its closeness to the border and the busy harbor – the possibility for the virus to enter Murmansk is high, regional veterinarian authorities believe.
Control is primarily enhanced to avoid import of infected foodstuffs from Mexico and USA. According to the regional veterinary service, foodstuffs from these countries are not imported to Murmansk through the harbor, but controls will still be intensified. Provisions and vessel crew’s personal luggage will be checked, news paper Komsomolskaya Pravda writes.
People arriving by plane or boat from Central and South America or USA will have the soles of their shoes disinfected before being allowed to enter Murmansk.
As BarentsObserver reported yesterday, two people have been hospitalized in Tromsø, northern Norway, on suspicion of swine flu. Tests of the patients showed no sign of the swine flu virus, news paper Verdens Gang writes.
