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Top Doctor Warns of Weather-Related Flu

A top doctor cautioned Tuesday about a possible spike in flu cases as unseasonably warm temperatures in Moscow give way to a cold spell by the weekend.

But Gennady Onishchenko, head of the government's consumer protection watchdog, said the chances of an outbreak were slim because schoolchildren, who are among those most susceptible to the flu, are on a weeklong break from classes.

"The overall situation is relatively good, and some regions in the country's Far East have even registered a fall in flu cases compared to the regions in central Russia," Onishchenko said, according to Interfax.

Temperatures in Moscow were forecast to reach 9 to 10 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the second day in a row of unusually balmy weather for early November. But the temperature was not expected to break the record of 11.6 C set on Nov. 6, 1922.

On Wednesday, the temperature will fall to 5 C as western winds sweep over the capital and then drop to zero by the weekend, weather forecasters said.

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