Russia's chief sanitary inspector wants to ban foreign tourism to curb swine flu

Russia's chief sanitary doctor Gennady Oniscshenko has advised all Russian citizens not to go abroad because of frequent swine flu cases, Russian website Vedomosti.ru reports. Oniscshenko recommended that Russians should pay more  attention to “the beautiful Moscow region, fantastic lake Baikal and legendary Sochi resorts.

“Russians go abroad without care or self-discipline. They just put shorts on unfit bodies.... They like to visit disreputable establishments and drink a lot of alcohol. But what will happen if you do not go to Thailand, Spain or the Dominican Republic? ” Onicshenko asked.

“If this was the main cause of swine flu in Russia, I would have called for legislation to be used. But that is not the case just yet, so I simply call for people to be careful,” he added.

According to reports the recently identified H1N1 virus has spread to many Europe countries.

Swine flu has reached almost 140 countries all over the world.

A new swine flu case was registered Sunday in Russia, as a sailor off a sea cruiser was diagnosed with the A(H1N1) virus.

"A 34-year old native of Guyana fell sick on board the Emerald Princess cruiser that came from Helsinki to Saint-Petersburg, and the A(H1N1) virus test gave a positive result," Gennady Onishchenko said, RIA Novosti reported.

The sick man received medical care in isolation, and although the rest of the crew were apparently healthy they were not allowed to disembark, Onishchenko said.

The total number of swine flu cases registered in Russia since the end of May has reached nine, as two more were confirmed earlier this week.

According to Onishchenko, none of the patients have been in danger.

According to the latest research by the World Health Organization, published July 6, the A(H1N1) virus has infected 94,512 people in more than a hundred countries around the world, killing nearly 400.