MOSCOW, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Batyr Berdyklychev, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) country office in Russia, has dismissed rumors about a new virus in the country, the TASS news agency reported Friday.

The WHO representative in Moscow has confirmed that the recent suspected cases in Russia were caused by the known bacterial infection of mycoplasma pneumonia, the report said.

Berdyklychev told TASS that the WHO had requested related data from Russian authorities in response to the reports of patients coughing up blood.

"Following investigations, including laboratory confirmation, it was determined that the five reported cases in Moscow and the Moscow region were caused by mycoplasma pneumonia. This is not a new virus, and the number of cases does not pose an increased epidemiological risk," he said.

Berdyklychev said that the WHO has established effective collaboration with Russia's Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare, adding, "This is a very good example of the fact that the Russian Federation has set up a reliable epidemiological surveillance system." Enditem

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