40,000 contract serious virus in Ukraine, kills 30

[BuckNaked]

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/281347

As the world enters the H1N1 season, another possible virus emerges as 30 people in the Eastern European country of Ukraine have died from this latest flu.

Each country is dealing with their own cases of the H1N1 swine flu and many have even taken the vaccination but is H1N1 the only flu out there? A viral infection in Ukraine has taken the lives of 30 people and at first it seemed like an ordinary flu but after a week the symptoms worsened.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports 40,000 Ukrainians have contracted the disease and at least 100 are in the hospital. Tests are currently being conducted and all is known is that it is not the H1N1 Swine Flu.

A large number of schools and childcare facilities are being shut down, especially in the city of Lvov. Also, government agencies are handing out surgical masks and gloves to people in the western part of Ukraine.

However, Russia Today is reporting that it is A/H1N1 or Californian Flu and the total number of deaths is closer to 40.

Prime Minister Timoshenko stated, “Express-tests cannot provide a hundred percent verification of the virus, they give only 50% accuracy. That’s why blood probes of those who died were sent to special laboratories for further testing. And only this morning it was confirmed that at least 11 deaths were caused by the A/H1N1 virus.”

The Ukrainian government is calling for international aid to help fight their epidemic and President Yushchenko believes the country needs more than $6 million to battle the epidemic(s).

Wolne Media have also reported that the symptoms have been diagnosed as pneumonia. Furthermore, four patients in the hospital in Lviv Oblast have been confirmed to have “very severe pneumonia” after contracting the influenza.

Out of left field comes a new contender for Disaster of the Day...

 

[MotF Bane]

H1C1. The Chernobyl flu.

 

[BuckNaked]

From the same source, and I don't know if these are two separate incidents happening concurrently or if the first story is wrong, but there seems to be more going on here...

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/281533

71 dead, 1,100 kids in hospital in Ukraine Swine Flu Tsunami

Ukraine Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevich has given his country's parliament an account of a massive wave of swine flu that has sickened 255,000. He says 66 adults, 3 children and 2 pregnant women are dead. WHO says 1,100 kids are hospitalized.

KIEV, Ukraine - A Swine Flu Tsunami has sickened 255,000 Ukrainians and killed 71 including three children and two pregnant women.

The World Health Organization says that 1,100 children have been hospitalized. Ukraine reports a total of 15,000 people are in hospital.

The World Health Organization is also sending a team to Ukraine to help the government cope with what appears to be an overwhelming health crisis that has also become a political football.

"Unfortunately, we have today cases of destruction of pregnant women, killing the fetus and in 2 cases - the mother," said health minister Vasyl Knyazevich according to a prepared parliamentary speech made available as a press release on Tuesday.

"As already indicated, the virus quickly spread through Ukraine. Cases (have been) recorded in Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Transcarpathian, Rivne. Quarantine is implemented in 9 provinces," he said.

"The situation is quickly changing with increasingly high levels of acute respiratory illness (ARI)/Influenza-like-illness (ILI) activity being observed in Ternopil, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Chernivtsi regions. The higher levels of transmission in these regions corresponds to an increased number of hospital admissions and fatalities associated with severe manifestations of acute respiratory illness," said a WHO statement.

WHO said as of Oct. 30, 1,100 children had been hospitalized.

"Preliminary epidemiological data analysis indicates that severe cases and deaths primarily occur among previously healthy young adults aged 20 – 50 years. Fatal and severe cases are reported to have sought medical attention 5 to 7 days after onset of symptoms," said a WHO statement.

"International experience of the (H1N1) 2009 pandemic to date, especially from the Southern Hemisphere, has shown that poor clinical outcomes are associated with delays in seeking health care and limited access to supportive care," said WHO in response to Ukraine's report of a medical crisis.

" In addition, this virus has also shown its ability to cause rapidly progressive overwhelming lung disease which is very difficult to treat," said a special WHO statement that addressed the situation in Ukraine, as Slovakia closed two border crossings and Russia offered to help the country deal with the health crisis.

"Public health measures recommended by the Ministry of Health of the Ukraine across the entire country include: social distancing (school closures and cancellation of mass gatherings); enhancement of surveillance activities; increased respiratory hygiene; and continuation of the vaccination campaign against seasonal influenza targeting at risk groups," WHO said.

"In response to the request from the Minister of Health of the Ukraine, WHO is deploying a multi-disciplinary team of experts to assist national authorities in mitigating the impact of the pandemic. The team comprises of the following expertise: health emergencies coordination, case management, epidemiology, laboratory diagnostics, logistics, and media/risk communications," said WHO.


http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/nov0209ukraine-jw.html

WHO sends team to Ukraine as flu cases rise

Robert Roos * News Editor

Nov 2, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed yesterday that it was sending a team of experts to help the government of Ukraine, where it said more than 2,300 people have been hospitalized for what is suspected to be pandemic H1N1 influenza and 38 have died.

Today a Ukrainian health official put the death toll from flu and acute respiratory illnesses at 67, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report. Deputy Health Minister Vasyl Lazorysynets said the country has had 255,000 cases of flu and respiratory illness, with 15,000 people hospitalized, AFP reported.

The reports follow the government's decision on Oct 30 to close schools and ban public meetings for 3 weeks because of the steep rise in suspected H1N1 cases.

The health ministry said only 22 cases have been confirmed as H1N1, with one death, according to the AFP report. But it said the country's National Security Council put the death toll at 4.

The WHO said the Ukraine Ministry of Health confirmed the H1N1 virus in 11 of 30 patients from two of the most affected regions, using tests in two Ukrainian laboratories. The WHO planned to run confirmatory tests at one of its collaborating centers.

The agency said the 2,300 hospital cases reported as of Oct 30 included more than 1,100 children, and 131 patients, including 32 children, needed intensive care.

The WHO reported that 38 deaths associated with "severe manifestations of acute respiratory illness" had occurred as of Oct 31. Preliminary analysis indicates that "severe cases and deaths primarily occur among previously healthy young adults and aged 20 to 50 years," the statement said.

Yesterday Ukraine made an urgent appeal to world powers for help in battling the pandemic, after announcing that 60 people had died of respiratory disease and flu, the AFP story said.

Poland, Ukraine's neighbor, urged the European Union to act swiftly to help the country, saying it was in EU members' best interest to send medical aid, AFP reported. Meanwhile, Slovakia closed two pedestrian border crossings with Ukraine and ordered spot medical checks at others, the story said, citing the SITA news agency.

The WHO, in its statement, noted once again that travel restrictions are not recommended because they will not prevent the spread of the disease.

The AFP report said alarm over H1N1 has become a political issue in Ukraine as it prepares for a presidential election in January, with rival candidates seeking to show leadership in battling the disease.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko today said Ukraine is suffering an epidemic of normal flu with a few cases of H1N1, AFP reported. She charged that "the unscrupulous statements of certain politicians" were causing panic.