MOSCOW, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia has confirmed 55 cases of A/H1N1 flu, the country's chief sanitary official said on Monday.

    "We have confirmed 55 cases, although there are some suspected cases, so this number is rising," sanitary chief Gennady Onishchenko was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

    All of those diagnosed with the flu had recently returned from vacations or business trips abroad, mostly Britain and Spain, he said.

    A/H1N1 flu infections have been recorded in Moscow, central Russia, the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, and most recently on the island of Sakhalin in the Far East, but there have been no lethal cases.

    The first batch of a vaccine against the A/H1N1 flu virus is reportedly to be ready in Russia by Oct. 1.

    Onishchenko said earlier that Russia would produce 16 million doses of the vaccine by the end of the year.

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