Russia reported its third confirmed A/H1N1 flu case on Thursday, the country's chief public health official said.

The patient is a Belarussian woman who took up residence in Italy, the Interfax news agency said, quoting Gennady Onishchenko.

She briefly stayed in New York from May 19 to May 22, and traveled to Moscow from Prague on May 25, it added.

She visited the doctor a day later due to uncomfortable symptoms, and was diagnosed with A/H1N1 flu.

Onishchenko said the patient was in a stable condition, and was expected to leave hospital Friday and go back to Italy.

None of those who had been in close contact with her showed symptoms of A/H1N1 flu, the official added.

Earlier, Onishchenko said two Russians diagnosed with A/H1N1 flu had recovered.

Russia reported its first two confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu last week, after a man who arrived in Moscow from New York and another man who returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic tested positive for the flu virus.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday some 13,398 A/H1N1flu infections had been recorded in 48 countries.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2009)