first case in Poland, Southern town of Mielec, 58 year old women recently returning from USA

http://www.bz-berlin.de/aktuell/wel...icle449249.html


Erster Fall in Polen
07. Mai 2009 07.52 Uhr, Reuters
Im Nachbarland Polen wird der erste Schweinegrippe-Fall gemeldet.

Auch in Polen ist offensichtlich ein erster Schweinegrippe-Fall aufgetreten. Bei der Infizierten handele es sich um eine 58 Jahre alte Frau, die kürzlich aus den USA zurückgekehrt sei, sagte eine Krankenhaussprecherin in der südpolnischen Stadt Mielec dem Fernsehsender TVN 24 am Mittwochabend. Der Zustand der Erkrankten sei nicht ernst.

Trotz der bislang glimpflich verlaufenden Epidemie der sogenannten Schweinegrippe bleibt die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) in Alarmbereitschaft. Während in dem bislang am schwersten betroffenen Mexiko die Welle anscheinend etwas abebbt, registriert die WHO in Europa eine weitere Ausbreitung des Virus' H1N1, der die neue Form der Grippe verursacht. In Deutschland gibt es bislang neun Infektionen.

Translated from Babelfish:

Also in Poland obviously a first case of pig flu arose. With the infected one act it around a 58 years old woman, who returned recently from the USA, said itself a hospital spokeswoman in the South Pole niches city Mielec the television station TVN 24 at Wednesday evening. The condition of the gotten sick ones is not serious. Despite so far the mildly running epidemic of the so-called pig flu the World Health Organization (WHO) in alert stand-by remains. While into so far at heaviest Mexico concerned the wave apparent somewhat dies down, the WHO in Europe registers a further propagation of the Virus' H1N1, which causes the new form of the flu. In Germany there are so far nine infections.

A/H1N1 patients in Romania under hospital surveillance
www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-28 19:34:25 Print

BUCHAREST, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The three A/H1N1 flu patients in Romania were all admitted to Matei Bals hospital in Bucharest, said Romanian Health Minister Ion Bazac on Thursday.

Bazac confirmed two new A/H1N1 flu cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Romania to three.

Romania announced on Wednesday its first confirmed case of A/H1N1 flu in a 30-year-old woman. The two new A/H1N1 cases are the one-year-old child and father of the woman, both secondary transmission cases.

"The woman and her child have reduced symptoms. Her father has fever and rhinorrhea. The patients are quarantined at Matei Bals Institute," Bazac told a press conference on Thursday.

The woman, who had returned from the United States with her two children on May 23, went to the hospital Tuesday with a fever and was diagnosed with the new virus.

The other child of the woman didn't test positive for the virus.

The minister said that health officials have identified all 22 people the woman came in contact with since she left for Romania.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2...nt_11450140.htm

__________________ 
The Big Bird is watching you..

Slovakia reports first case of swine flu

Associated Press

2009-05-28 06:41 PM


Slovakia's health minister says the country's first case of swine flu has been confirmed in a Slovak citizen.

Richard Rasi says the 37-year-old man was hospitalized in a university clinic in the Slovak capital after the disease was confirmed on Thursday.

The man returned from the United States on May 22 and developed mild symptoms several days later. Clinic doctor Vladimir Rolny said his condition has improved since and he currently has no problems.

Rolny said the man is expected to be released in the next few days. He said the man's wife who traveled with him has no health problems.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news...rss=news_Health

__________________ 
The Big Bird is watching you..

Health Ministry confirms 25 new cases of H1N1 in Bulgaria
Wed, Oct 14 2009 13:57 CET byNick Iliev
http://sofiaecho.com/2009/10/14/799...ulgaria?ref=rss


The Bulgarian Health Ministry has confirmed 25 new cases of people infected by the swine flu influenza last week alone, Dnevnik daily reported on October 14 2009.

This takes the latest tally to 119 people currently being treated but authorities from the pandemic department fear that the actual number of people in the country affected by the H1N1 strain is "substantially higher". In most cases, the effects are described as "mild", so authorities believe that sufferers eventually recovery without reporting it or seeking specialised medical treatment.

For the period October 5-11, a total of 3847 people in the country complained of feeling "the symptoms" of the strain but the vast majority of cases – 2814 – were eventually attributed to seasonal flu and/or respiratory complications.

The ministry reminds people to be on the alert, to wash hands constantly and boost their immune system by consuming a diet rich in fruit and vegetables. Should they experience symptoms associated with the strain – high fever, respiratory problems, coughing, sweating and vomiting – they should immediately consult the nearest medical establishment.

__________________ 

"I don't want to make money. I just want to be wonderful." - Marilyn Monroe

Don't anthropomorphize viruses. They hate that.

google translated


In Ukraine, from complications following an unknown form of flu deaths of seven people

Ternopil. October 27. INTERFAX-UKRAINE - In Ternopil region of Ukraine on October 26 from complications caused by flu, seven people died, said Tuesday the head of the regional health administration Bogdan Oniskiv.

At a press conference on Tuesday in Ternopil, he noted that almost all dead - the young, physically healthy people. "

He also informed that over the past few days in Ternopil with flu symptoms unknown to the medical institutions sought about 6 thousand people.

"Type of influenza can only be determined through a half weeks. The final results should come from London" - said Boris Oniskiv.

According to him, the situation on the incidence of influenza in the area under control, and provide medical assistance in full.

He explained that the difficult situation with the level of morbidity in the Ternopil region associated with a significant number of migrants.

"The explanation, I think, lies on the surface: it is a feature of the region's population, and migration processes. The course of the disease is worse in adults than in children."

According to the Ternopil Regional Administration, the local sanitary-epidemiological station checks the data, voiced at a press conference.

"As of 16.00 on Tuesday in the area is not laboratory confirmed fatal cases of influenza and acute respiratory viral infections", - stated in the administration.
To provide advice and practical assistance from October 28 in the area will bring together experts Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases Gromashevsky behalf of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

http://www.interfax.kz/?lang=rus

In western Ukraine, raging flu epidemic: 30 people died

In western Ukraine, raging flu epidemic. Already has registered 30 deaths: in the Lviv region of 12 people died in the Ivano-Frankivsk region - 6 people, in the Ternopil - 12, reports RBC-Ukraine.

As the press service of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the number of cases for a total of 37 thousand 923 persons, of which 3 418 people - children. Total hospitalized 951 people.

Earlier today, the head of the maternity General Directorate of Health Lviv Oblast city administration (RSA) Irina Mikichak reported that in the Lviv region of 10 people have died from pneumonia and 11 are in intensive care with a diagnosis of pneumonia.

According to the Spokesperson for the President of the Lviv Regional Administration Olga Kulik, in the Lviv region suspended instruction in all high schools in the area due to the flu and colds. The corresponding decree was signed by the Governor of the Lviv region. Nicholas Kmit.

It also recommends that the Regional SES stop learning in all schools in the area, which is now on vacation. In addition, the SES recommends that in kindergarten, which have continued their work on a daily basis to measure the temperature of children and parents to call if the temperature of their children improved.

In turn, the chief state sanitary doctor Alexander Bilovol said that in Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv epidemic threshold is exceeded, particularly in the Ternopil region in 1,5 times. He added that the situation in the Ternopil region is complex, there went Commission Minohrany health to clarify the circumstances of aggravation of the epidemiological situation. In addition, A. Bilovol urged citizens at the onset of symptoms of SARS and influenza to seek immediate medical attention.

The cause of early deterioration of the epidemiological situation in some regions A. Bilovol explains the sharp cooling and chronic diseases, the number of which have recently increased. According to him, the Ministry of Health is ready for a possible epidemic across the state.

Also in the Ministry of Health continues to insist that from the "swine flu" in Ukraine, only two died. According to O. Bilovol, for the last time, other cases were found.

At the same time, he added that the statistics of mortality from pneumonia does not allocate the cause of pneumonia: influenza disease, postoperative complications, and a number of other reasons.

29 October 2009.

http://da.feedsportal.com/c/32327/f...0Bshtml/ia1.htm

Minister of Health has confirmed cases of swine flu in Ukraine


Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevich confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 in Ukraine.

He stated this today, October 30.

Recall yesterday, 29 October, the media reported that, in the Transcarpathian region in the district center Volovets, according to preliminary data from the "swine flu dead man, who returned from St. Petersburg, and the symptoms of swine flu detected in another resident of Transcarpathia, arrived from Moscow.

First Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Turchinov evening of 29 October, commenting on the situation with the spread of influenza and SARS in Ukraine, said that this morning, October 30, will meet the State Emergency Anti-epidemic and antiepizootic Commission.

Yesterday evening, The Ministry of Health has confirmed 30 deaths from flu and acute respiratory viral diseases, starting from 19 October, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions.

According to the newspaper "Kommersant-Ukraine, the epidemic of influenza and acute respiratory infections in the Western Ukraine has already claimed the lives of 37 people. The newspaper reminds that the main feature of disease progression is the lung, resulting in people dying from pneumonia. Doctors are trying to identify the agent of this disease.

Public health services in Lviv region appealed to residents to call not to go into places of mass gathering of people without special masks respirator.

http://news.online.ua/245010/

KIEV, October 30 (RIA Novosti) - Swine flu has been confirmed as the cause of 30 deaths in western Ukraine since October 19, the country's health minister said on Friday.

Vasyl Knyazevych said the deaths occurred in three regions earlier in the week, but the A/H1N1 virus had only now been determined as the cause.

Knyazevych told Unian news agency that a pandemic had begun in the country.

"Ukraine has joined the global pandemic zone," he told the agency, adding the government would consider imposing quarantines, prolonging current school holidays and other measures to curb the spread of the virus.

The government is expected to hold an emergency session later on Friday to address the outbreak. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko plans to travel to the Tirnopol region, where the virus originated before spreading to the neighboring Ivano-Frankovsk and Lvov regions.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20091030/156648297.html

hello,

Another person from the bus of 80 people returning from Spain over the weekend has been found to be sick with the A-H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, and is be treated in a hospital in Szczecin, northern Poland.68 cases of swine flu in Poland

Welcome, nikgary. Thanks so much for the update!!


MomCares

__________________ 

"I don't want to make money. I just want to be wonderful." - Marilyn Monroe

Don't anthropomorphize viruses. They hate that.

Is the puppy in Ukraine different?

30 deaths, how many infected? Should be hundreds of thousands.

The greater number of deaths in the Ukraine could just be less efficient medical care. Perhaps less tamiflu use, or number of vents or even hospital beds, etc. There would be far more deaths in the US without such things, and why if the healthcare system is overwhelmed, we'll have more here too.

__________________ 
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Roscoe and Miss Priss

I'd rather have proof that it's the same old critter, and they had some difficulty establishing it was h1n1 in the first place, so let's hope it's not an evolutionary update.

Frequent reader here, but I rarely post. Sorry if this is in the wrong category or a double, but I didn't see it anywhere else.

http://zik.com.ua/en/news/2009/10/29/202374

Western Ukraine was hit by a severe epidemic of unidentified influenza, tentatively diagnosed by doctors as viral pneumonia. The number of dead has climbed dramatically. Doctors advise Western Ukrainians to stay at home and use preventive medication. The first pedestrians wearing face masks have been seen on Lviv streets

It is identified: the new H1N1.

See also http://www.curevents.com/vb/showthread.php?t=100905

There are some reasons for people to not call it H1N1 but "viral infection" or "pneumonia", psychological and political reasons for instance.

Huge outbreak.

Lot of posting here: http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=130185

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/co...009ukraine.html

Ukraine imposes social distancing steps amid flu surge
Lisa Schnirring Staff Writer


Oct 30, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – Ukranian officials today shuttered schools and banned public meeting for the next 3 weeks in the wake of a spike in pandemic flu and the country's first H1N1 deaths, which have sparked speculation that the disease has become worse in some patients or that another pathogen is circulating.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced that the spikes in virus activity were affecting three parts of western Ukraine where large number of respiratory illnesses have been reported since the middle of October, Reuters reported today.

She said the emergency order banning public events also applies to political rallies. She is running as a candidate in the presidential election against other candidates, including current President Viktor Yushchenko. Both candidates have cancelled election events.

Yuschenko told reporters that 11 people have died of pandemic H1N1 infections, though the health ministry said it has confirmed only 1 death, according to the Reuters report. The National Radio Company of Ukraine (NRCU) reported that two labs have confirmed 11 pandemic H1N1 cases, but it didn't mention the number of deaths.

Meanwhile, Polskie Radio, based in Warsaw, reported today that more than 2,000 people have been hospitalized and that 33 had died from an unknown virus in the Ukraine. The report said Polish health officials are monitoring the outbreak.

Though authorities in Poland have not ordered border closures, they are advising those traveling to the Ukraine about how to protect themselves from the flu.

The report identified the hardest hit areas as the Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv regions.

For at least the past week contributors to influenza news blogs and message boards have been translating Ukranian news sources to sift for clues about the Ukraine's spike in respiratory diseases.

One translated report posted on the Flutrackers message board said some of the fatalities were young people who had severe hemorrhagic pneumonia. A regional health chief was quoted in one of the translated stories as saying autopsy revealed lungs soaked with blood.

CIDRAP News was unable to confirm if officials from the World Health Organization had sent a team to assess the flu outbreak in the Ukraine or if experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had been asked to consult on the outbreak. No information was immediately available from the US Embassy in Kiev.

See also:

Oct 30 Reuters story
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-...E59T2YA20091030

Oct 30 Polskie Radio report
http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/... epidemic.html

Oct 30 NRCU report
http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=148&listid=103341

Flutrackers Ukranian outbreak thread
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=130185

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Roscoe and Miss Priss

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LU288212.htm

Ukraine shuts schools, halts campaigning over H1N1 30 Oct 2009 15:55:14 GMT
Source: Reuters
* H1N1 epidemic in Western Ukraine hits election rallies

* Yushchenko says Ukraine may call for international help

(Adds effect on election, quotes, Yushchenko, football)

By Richard Balmforth

KIEV, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine closed schools and banned public meetings including election rallies and restricted travel on Friday for a three-week period after confirming its first death from H1N1 flu.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced the measures, saying the virus had reached epidemic levels in three parts of western Ukraine, where there has been an outbreak of respiratory illness since mid-October.

The epidemic coincides with the start of campaigning for a presidential election on Jan. 17. Tymoshenko, herself a front-runner, said the emergency would affect campaign rallies.

"All our pre-election events have been cancelled. They will not be held until the situation has stabilised," she said in a televised statement.

President Viktor Yushchenko, a bitter rival of Tymoshenko's, himself called off a public meeting in Kiev where he had been due to roll out his election programme.

He told journalists that 11 people had died of H1N1, also called swine flu, contradicting a Health Ministry report of only one death. An aide and a ministry official said Yushchenko may have made a mistake.

The government allotted 500 million hryvnias ($63 million) for medical supplies to fight the virus, agencies said.

Yushchenko said Ukraine, already suffering the effects of a severe economic downturn, would turn to international institutions and foreign partners for help if the situation developed beyond Ukraine's capacity to handle it.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY

"All educational institutions without exception ... will be put on a three-week holiday period," Tymoshenko said. She indicated this could be extended if necessary.

"Apart from this, we will cancel all mass meetings ... for three weeks," she told an emergency government session. "We will introduce a special system to stop unnecessary travel from one region to another."

She said Ukraine was in touch with international football authorities to discuss whether the measures would have any effect on two international fixtures scheduled for November.

Ukraine is scheduled to host a UEFA Champions' League soccer clash between Dynamo Kiev and Inter Milan on Nov. 4 and a World Cup qualifying play-off between Ukraine and Greece on Nov. 18.

"We are considering (imposing) a quarantine not only in the west but also across the country, because the virus is spreading very fast," Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevych told reporters.

In Lviv, the main town in one of the affected regions and normally bustling on a Friday, there were significantly fewer people on the streets. Those who were wore handkerchiefs and scarves across the lower part of their faces.

"There is nothing in the pharmacies. What can I say? There is no medicine at all?" said one woman, Maria Shalyazhinska, queuing outside a pharmacy.

"How come nobody knew this epidemic was coming? Children are sick. The elderly are sick. There are no masks. People are queuing and waiting for supplies to come but nobody knows if they will come or not."

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Roscoe and Miss Priss

Ukraine: 48 dead of swine flu?
Via the Kyiv Post: President: 48 die of swine flu in Ukraine. Excerpt:
The Interfax news agency quotes Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko as saying that 48 people have died of swine flu in the ex-Soviet nation.
Ukraine closed schools and banned cinema showings and concerts Friday in a bid to stop the epidemic, which Yushchenko says sickened 150,000 people.
The outbreak began in the western Ternopol region, health officials said. Ukrainian media reported severe shortages of anti-flu medication and masks in pharmacies.
October 31, 2009 at 06:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/

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Roscoe and Miss Priss

Ukraine's swine flu death toll rises to nearly 50 - Summary

Kiev - The death toll from a swine flu outbreak in Ukraine has risen to nearly 50, President Viktor Yushchenko announced Saturday, having put the number of dead at only 11 the day before. Quoted by the Interfax news agency, Yushchenko said the epidemic was spreading at a furious pace, with a total of 48 deaths and around 150,000 people sick.

The president said that alone in Lviv region in the country's west, more than 60,000 people had been infected with the H1N1 virus.

All schools, kindergartens, and universities were closed for a three-week period on Friday. A ban on massed gatherings - forcing the wholesale cancellation of concerts and political rallies - was also in effect.

Ukraine's national security council also approved the equivalent of 55 million dollars in emergency funding, for swine flu control, and earlier Saturday the Ukrainian government announced new measures to control the spread of the virus.

Health Minister Vasyl Kniazevych told Channel 5 television that the flu was thought still to be limited to the country's western provinces as of Saturday morning, but because of the number of suspected cases, a spread was likely. "The country must prepare for a wider outbreak," Kniazevych said. "Its direction of movement is towards central Ukraine."

More than 80,000 people in the swine flu outbreak area had registered with authorities as displaying possible flu symptoms, but because of the similarity of swine flu symptoms to those of common flu, health workers were struggling to estimate the extent of the swine flu's spread, Kniazevych said.

"We had a problem with identifying the (swine flu) antibody in flu sufferers," he said. "There is a mass of work we have to do."

Panic purchasing of flu remedies, surgical masks, and even citrus fruits took place in most major cities in the former Soviet republic, 1+1 television reported.

The swine flu deaths thus far have been limited to the nine western provinces, most along the borders with Slovakia, Poland, and Romania.

Shortages of over-the-counter medicines used to treat the common flu were reported as far away as the eastern city Zaporizhia, some 900 kilometres from the epicentre of the outbreak.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was scheduled to hold an emergency meeting with regional health officials Saturday, to discuss new disease control measures.

Invoking a rarely-used law allowing the state to take temporary control of private property, Tymoshenko declared all health-related organizations in the country, including privately-owned health clinics and hospitals, to be "directly subordinate" to the government, effective immediately.

The government would pay particular attention to medical supply retailers, to head off artificial goods shortages and price gouging, she said, in comments reported by the Unian news agency.

Retail price spikes of as much as 300 per cent for cold and flu remedies have taken place in recent years in Ukraine, during avian flu outbreaks.

Tymoshenko claimed privately-operated chemists in the country were "absolutely supplied in full volume with all necessary medical supplies," contradicting spot reports of shortages.

Trains operated by the national railroad Ukrzhelesnitsiya were running according to schedule, but staff were ordered to wear surgical masks, and instructed to report passengers who appear to have flu symptoms.

Medical personnel aboard "every passenger train" were available to provide first aid to potential flu sufferers, and would report people treated to the Health Ministry, according to statement on the Ukrzhelesnitsiya website.

Traffic in Ukrainian airports and intercity highways meanwhile appeared to be at normal levels despite a call by Tymoshenko for Ukrainians to avoid long-distance travel if possible.

Traffic police and airport security personnel have been briefed to screen travellers visually, Tymoshenko said.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/...0--summary.html

could it be because of harsher climate ? For the last to days weather in Turkey has gone havoc because of a cold front coming from Ukraine. Temperatures dropped approx 15 degrees celcius (30F) in 2 days. I wonder how it is like 800 km north of here ...

__________________ 
--- Take my wife, not my chickens ---

Guess you have a point Oric : change of weather, getting colder often triggers influenza like illnesses.

With the bird flu outbreak in Turkey, wasn't the weather really cold? Lot of snow?

dutchy : very very cold .. triggers other infections as well

__________________ 
--- Take my wife, not my chickens ---

Bulgaria School Principal Dies from Suspected Swine Flu
October 31, 2009, Saturday
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=109469


The Principal of ‘Vasil Levski’ High School in Bulgaria’s North-Western city Vratsa, has died after being treated over the last week for suspected swine flu

According to unofficial information, after having a cough and constantly taking antibiotics this week, on Friday the her condition deteriorated and soon after she was taken to an emergency medical center where she died. Her age has not yet been confirmed.

The assumption that she died from the A (H1N1) virus, will be confirmed or rejected after an autopsy. Currently two schools are closed in Vratsa – one after 35,5% were reported to be suffering from flu like symptoms.

Meanwhile, on Friday a 20-year-old man, Boris Petrov, is suspected to have died from swine flu in Blagoevgrad after being transferred from Petrich Hospital to a special unit in the city. A 31-year-old man is also in a serious condition in the Blagoevgrad Hospital, again suffering from flu symptoms.

Bulgaria Health Minister, Bozhidar Nanev, stated Saturday that there are currently 277 laboratory-proven cases of the A(H1N1) virus - swine flu, in Bulgaria, with two confirmed deaths.

__________________ 

"I don't want to make money. I just want to be wonderful." - Marilyn Monroe

Don't anthropomorphize viruses. They hate that.

Ukraine gripped by swine flu fears
http://www.euronews.net/2009/10/31/...wine-flu-fears/


Ukraine’s swine flu epidemic is spreading at an alarming rate. The number of deaths has risen to nearly 50.

President Viktor Yushchenko made the announcement, having put the number of victims at 11 just 24 hours earlier.

The latest figures suggest 150,000 are sick with H1N1.

Schools, universities and playgroups have been closed for the next three weeks. Mass gatherings have also been banned.

Panic buying of masks and flu remedies is sweeping the country according to local media reports.

The government also announced an emergency package of 40 million euros to go towards anti-swine flu measures.

One woman queuing for medicine said:
“What can I say? There is no medicine in the chemists. How come nobody prepared for this epidemic? Children are sick. The elderly are sick. There are no masks, not even basic pills. People are queuing and waiting for supplies to come, but nobody knows if they will come or not.”

The price of flu medicines rose by as much as 300 per cent in Ukraine during the previous bird flu outbreak.

__________________ 

"I don't want to make money. I just want to be wonderful." - Marilyn Monroe

Don't anthropomorphize viruses. They hate that.

Numbers are a bit strange for Ukraine...

Almost 4% hospitalizations. On a fairly big number of sick reported (185k).

It would not be surprising if there are much more infected, more hospitalised, more deaths than reported.

- Bad infrastructure in general

- Bad health infrastructure

- Bad general health situation, a lot of "underlying diseases" , late treatment, Tamiflu hardly available.

- Many poor people, don't have money to go to a doctor

This definitely isn't good news:

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/1...kraine_HCW.html
H1N1 Doctor Deaths In Ukraine Raise Concerns
Recombinomics Commentary 22:22
November 1, 2009
Four doctors died of flu in Ukraine's Ternopol and Lvov regions, Health Minister Vasily Knyazevich said at the Sunday meeting of the operative headquarters for the prevention and treatment of A/H1N1 flu.

The above comments describe the death of four health care workers (HCWs) at two sites in western Ukraine. The government website shows a total of 53 deaths (see map), which is quite low if four HCWs have already died. HCW are trained in methods to minimize infections from parents, and they are likely to get prompt medical attention, yet four have already died. These numbers add to the confusion in Ukraine.

Initial reports denied the outbreak was due to H1N1 even though there was virtually no seasonal flu circulating in Europe (or North America). The explosion in cases of acute respiratory illness (ARI), in view of the exploding H1N1 pandemic throughout the northern hemisphere, would signal involvement in the cases in Ukraine.

However, even after H1N1 was confirmed in influenza and ARI patients in western Ukraine, Kiev was still maintaining that the cases there were not H1N1, even though 300,000 doses of Tamiflu are scheduled to arrive today, and a WHO investigative team is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

The denials of H1N1 in obvious cases raise concerns that the number of fatalities is markedly higher that the 53 acknowledged, especially when 4 of the 53 are HCWs.

More details on the HCW deaths and on those hospitalized would be useful.

On November 2, in Ukraine, 67 people died - Ministry of Health

02.11.09 / / 12:56

As of November 2, in Ukraine from the flu and colds 67 people died. This was announced today at a press briefing, First Deputy Minister of Health Mr. Lazoryshynets.

According to the Ministry of Health, today officially recorded 255 thousand cases of flu and colds. 15 thousand people are being treated in hospital, 170 of them in intensive care units, says the League.

The deputy minister said that the most affected regions of Ukraine remain Lviv (29 dead), Ternopil (14), Ivano-Frankivsk (12) and Chernivtsi Regions (5).

http://glavred.info/archive/2009/11/02/132604-14.html

http://news.aol.com/article/ukraine...who-team/747842

Ukraine closes all schools to fight swine flu By YANA SEDOVA and SIMON SHUSTER, AP
posted: 7 MINUTES AGO

KIEV, Ukraine -Urging its citizens not to panic, Ukraine on Monday closed down all schools nationwide for a week to avoid the spread of swine flu and suggested that nightclubs, cinemas and food markets in the west also shut down.

The World Health Organization said Monday there was no evidence that Ukraine had a bad outbreak of swine flu but at the government's request it had sent a health team in to help the country cope.

"But this is not an indication that the situation is severe," said WHO spokeswoman Liuba Negru. "The information we have gotten (from the government), we have to double-check it and make sure it is real, evidence-based information."

Ukraine's Health Ministry said Monday that 67 people in the nation of 40 million have died of flu, but did not say how many of those deaths were related to swine flu. Worldwide, outbreaks of regular seasonal flu claim 50,000 lives each year.

Nevertheless, all schools have been closed for a week across Ukraine, even in the capital, Kiev, where there have been no confirmed cases of swine flu.
In western Ukraine, local authorities advised people to travel only when necessary, a Health Ministry spokeswoman said.

All outdoor markets have been closed in the western region of Lviv, where the governor also urged cinemas, cafes, nightclubs and theaters to shut down until further notice.

Some observers, including the speaker of the parliament, Vladimir Litvin, suggested that these measures are the result of political wrangling ahead of the country's presidential election in January. The pivotal vote could overturn the 2004 Orange Revolution that swept a pro-Western government to power.
"We are seeing a political competition to see who will be the first to lead this process (of fighting swine flu)," Litvin said, according to the UNIAN news agency.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko met a Swiss shipment of anti-viral drugs at the Kiev airport on Monday.

"The government has declared the situation an epidemic, but there is absolutely no need to panic," she declared on national television.
Her main rival, President Viktor Yushchenko, said thousands were infected and called for assistance from NATO, the European Commission, the United States, Russia and other countries.

Konstantin Bondarenko, director of the Gorshenin Institute, a political consultancy, said that Tymoshenko has the most to lose from public sentiment over the outbreak, as state health officials answer to her.
"Right now all the candidates are weighing their political options, looking around for a theme, and this is a very hot topic right now. The panic is there, and they are acting on it," Bondarenko said.

After receiving the shipment of 300,000 doses of Tamiflu at Kiev's Borispol airport, Tymoshenko said her government plans to increase its hoard of the drug by another 300,000 to 950,000 doses.

"This is the supply that will reliably protect Ukraine," Tymoshenko said, ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Viktor Yanukovych, the Regions' Party candidate for the presidency, has not yet commented on the swine flu uproar. Yanukovych, who was beaten in 2005 by Yushchenko, is leading in the polls with a platform that emphasizes closer ties with Russia.

During the past five years of Yushchenko's presidency, relations with Moscow reached historic lows. Yushchenko's approval ratings at home have fallen to single digits in the wake of the economic crisis, which hit Ukraine hard, and years of political gridlock with Tymoshenko.

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Roscoe and Miss Priss

Could be, but hospitalizations still seem too high. It is 4 % on ALL flu like illnesses.

It is anecdotal, but here in Croatia we just had a TV show, standard stuff, "not worse than regular flu", "do we have enough of this and that", but, at the end o the show, doctor in city of Split, slipped some numbers.

170 people coming to doctor, 18 hospitalizations, 8 with strong viral pneumonia, one death. He was handling June cases, and they had just one hospitalization on 150-200 cases. He basically said on the air that "this one seems a bit more severe to them".

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/co...ukraine-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.

See also:

Nov 1 WHO statement
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_11_01/en/index.html

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Roscoe and Miss Priss

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_11_03/en/

WHO Global Alert and Response (GAR)

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, Ukraine - update 1

3 November 2009 -- According to the Ministry of Health of the Ukraine, the country has now recorded more than 250,000 cases of influenza-like illness, with 235 patients requiring intensive care. As of 2 November, 70 deaths from acute respiratory illness have been reported.

Regions in western Ukraine continue to show the highest rates of acute respiratory illness/influenza-like illness. The level of activity in the Kyiv area is also increasing rapidly.

Laboratory testing in Ukraine has confirmed pandemic H1N1 influenza virus in samples taken from patients in two of the most affected regions. As the pandemic virus has rapidly become the dominant influenza strain worldwide, it can be assumed that most cases of influenza in Ukraine are caused by the H1N1 virus.

As elsewhere, WHO strongly recommends early treatment with the antiviral drugs, oseltamivir or zanamivir, for patients who meet treatment criteria, even in the absence of a positive laboratory test confirming H1N1 infection.

Related links

Recommended use of antivirals

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009


At the request of the government, a multi-disciplinary team of nine experts has been deployed by WHO and arrived in Kyiv yesterday evening. Discussions with the Minister of Health were held this morning to brief the team.

Team members will now begin field investigations to characterize the clinical and epidemiological features of the outbreak. Work will initially begin in Lviv region, where reported numbers of cases showing severe manifestations of acute respiratory illness have been especially high. Two virologists on the team have started working at the National Influenza Centre and the laboratories of the Central Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Kyiv to provide diagnostic support.

Samples sent by the Ministry of Health were received today by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, Mill Hill in London, UK. The laboratory will conduct confirmatory tests and further characterize the virus.

Many questions remain to be answered. The outbreak in Ukraine may be indicative of how the virus can behave in the northern hemisphere during the winter season, particularly in health care settings typically found in Eastern Europe.

Given the potential significance of this outbreak as an early warning signal, WHO commends the government of Ukraine for its transparent reporting and open sharing of samples.

WHO continues to recommend no closing of borders and no restrictions on international travel, including to Ukraine. Experience shows that such measures will not stop further spread of the virus.

__________________ 
Still, there are some out there that are doing nothing to prepare for a possible pandemic of the bird flu. When Denver resident Jeff ... was asked if he was taking precautions, he replied, "Nothing at all, nah. I don't want to freak myself out."

This is from a different flu board, but seems to address the Ukraine situation from a very local perspective. I hope I am not out of line posting it here.

http://fluboard.rhizalabs.com/forum...=2474&start=440

Quote:
I'm in touch with a med student who is in Lviv and he's confirmed the situation is extremely bad there, the number of hemorrhagic cases has been astronomical (in his words).

Something that might prove useful - the use of the term SARS in the reports is a translational error apparently. Like the regional reports of "pneumonic plague" the descriptive terms in Russian and Ukrainian dialect were replaced with what turned out to be a very poor choice of words when translated to English. Quite a few people are taking both literally and believe Ukraine has a guarter million plague infected!

We already covered the plague but I was curious about the reports of SARS in the case breakdowns. He didn't clarify what the intended term was just that our concept of SARS as the Asian disease is not what it means.

I have to say the media and WHO efforts in the West to downplay the severity of H1N1 has not helped the situation at all. There are claims that medical staff in Ukraine were not aware of the hemorrhagic symptoms possible in H1N1 victims (the first reports of this came from Mexico City) and the health minister keeps making statements in the press that Ukraine is dealing with a mutation of the virus. I've considered the political pressures he is no doubt under to excuse the complete lack of preparation but I don't think he could possibly know for sure if there is a mutation or not at this time.

People in the region have reported light airplanes spraying at night, (most likely an effort at the aeroclave pandemic response) but by not publicly announcing it the rumors of bio weapon use and other conspiracies surrounding the election have people stirred into near total panic. I've had several first hand reports of eyewitnesses to the spraying so I personally believe it, I just doubt its an effort to infect the populace.

A quarantine is being enforced in Lviv by police who are forcing people to remain indoors, the border is still open and flights are available, my med student friend is leaving later today, hopefully without a viral souvenir to take home.

__________________ 
Still, there are some out there that are doing nothing to prepare for a possible pandemic of the bird flu. When Denver resident Jeff ... was asked if he was taking precautions, he replied, "Nothing at all, nah. I don't want to freak myself out."

Thanks, BookLady. Bad-looking situation in the Ukraine. Assuming no mutation, I wonder if its just the real start of the flu season and if things will continue to get worse in the N hemisphere as winter continues to approach.

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Roscoe and Miss Priss

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/co...309ukraine.html

WHO team arrives to assist with Ukraine flu probe
Lisa Schnirring Staff Writer


Nov 3, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said its team arrived in the Ukraine last night and met with the country's health ministry today to discuss a dramatic spike in flulike illnesses and deaths, particularly in the western part of the country.

The Ukrainian health ministry has recorded more than 250,000 flulike illnesses, of which 235 patients needed treatment in intensive care units, the WHO said in a statement today. As of yesterday, 70 deaths had been reported.

The high level of illnesses activity and severe cases, combined with reports of hemorrhagic pneumonia cases, have raised some speculation that the virus might be behaving differently in the Ukraine, but further testing is just getting under way.

Laboratory testing at labs in the Ukraine have confirmed the pandemic H1N1 virus in samples taken from patients in two regions, the WHO said, adding that because the pandemic virus has become dominant throughout the world, most of the Ukrainian respiratory illnesses are probably caused by the novel H1N1 strain.

Though the highest illness rates have been seen in the western part of the country, illness activity is increasing rapidly in Kiev, the WHO reported.

The WHO's field investigation team will start in the Lviv region, where the number of cases of severe respiratory illness has been especially high. Virologists from the WHO have started working with Ukrainian scientists at the National Influenza Centre and the Central Sanitary and Epidemiological Station, both in Kiev.

Ukraine's health ministry has sent viral samples to the WHO collaborating center in London, where laboratory experts will conduct confirmatory tests and further characterize the virus.

The outbreak raises several questions and may provide clues about how the virus will circulate in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter months, particularly in areas such as Eastern Europe that have healthcare challenges.

The WHO commended Ukrainian officials for their transparent reporting and open sharing of viral samples. It also said border closures and international travel restrictions are not warranted.

Lawmakers in the Ukraine today approved legislation freeing up $1 billion UAH (about $131 million) in reserve funds for flu response actions, according to a report from UNIAN, the country's independent news agency.

The country's head sanitary inspector today, in a television interview, denied that the country was experiencing an outbreak of pandemic flu and said only 14 cases had been confirmed, including three deaths, according to another UNIAN report today.

Meanwhile, two of Ukraine's top leaders, who are opponents in a January presidential election, scrambled to respond to the flu outbreak, UNIAN reported. President Victor Yuschenko instructed the military to prepare portable military hospitals, and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko promised to provide all of the country's residents with masks to reduce their flu exposure.

An official from the Ukraine's flu and respiratory disease center, Oleksandr Hrynevych, today projected that pandemic H1N1 vaccination could begin in a month or two after regulators approve two vaccines that are undergoing testing, according to a report from the National Radio Company of Ukraine (NRCU). He said the vaccine supply will come from the WHO and from individual country donations.

A warden message posted on the US State Department's Ukrainian embassy Web site said US officials are aware of the outbreak and are monitoring the situation. Though the country has imposed several social-distancing measures, such as a 3-week school closure, Ukrainian officials have told the State Department that no general quarantine is in effect.

The US embassy said that, because of legal restrictions and lack of resources, it is not able to provide private citizens with pandemic supplies, medication, medical treatment, or medical advice.

See also:

Nov 3 WHO pandemic update on pandemic flu in the Ukraine

UNIAN Web site
http://unian.net/eng/

Nov 3 NRCU report

US Embassy warden message
http://kiev.usembassy.gov/amcit_wardenmsg_0405_eng.html

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Roscoe and Miss Priss

http://www.lvivnews.info/news/5206.html

"On November 3 in Lviv, 767 patients with influenza are acute health workers. Of these 198 physicians, 312 nurses and 257 people belonging to the technical staff of hospitals. 15 of them is in hospital."

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Still, there are some out there that are doing nothing to prepare for a possible pandemic of the bird flu. When Denver resident Jeff ... was asked if he was taking precautions, he replied, "Nothing at all, nah. I don't want to freak myself out."

In Volyn epidporih influenza and ARI exceeded three times

In the Volyn region, the epidemic threshold incidence of influenza and ARI exceeded three times. Кількість хворих на 10 тис. населення становить 280 осіб. Number of patients per 10 thousand population is 280 people. Померло 3 людей. 3 people died.

As the deputy chief of the regional health administration Maria HOHOSHA, Volyn registered 28 944 persons who applied to medical assistance. Of these 18 944 adults, 10 thousand children, were hospitalized 1 456 people, including 691 - Adult 765 - children.

Head of State Administration Nikolay ROMANYUK said that health facilities are currently provided with necessary medicines. "The only thing in the pharmaceutical chain of medication is extremely strong demand, because people rozkupovuyut them immediately" - he said.


Source: http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... l%2F201553

__________________ 
Still, there are some out there that are doing nothing to prepare for a possible pandemic of the bird flu. When Denver resident Jeff ... was asked if he was taking precautions, he replied, "Nothing at all, nah. I don't want to freak myself out."

Quote:
New Official table from the Ukraine


http://translate.google.com/translate?p ... ry_state0=

thank you for posting.

Total infections:478,456
Total hospitalizations:24,003
Total deaths:81

__________________ 
Still, there are some out there that are doing nothing to prepare for a possible pandemic of the bird flu. When Denver resident Jeff ... was asked if he was taking precautions, he replied, "Nothing at all, nah. I don't want to freak myself out."

Swine flu reaches Kyiv
Today at 12:35 | Staff reports Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko on Nov. 4 said the Heath Ministry has recorded the first swine flu related death in Kyiv obast.
Flue has reached Kiev oblast.

Source: Kyivpost of today (4 November), 12.35
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/51883/

Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko on Nov. 4 said the Heath Ministry has recorded the first swine flu related death in Kyiv obast.

She made the announcement during a closed-circuit video conference with the heads of the country’s regional administrations, during which Kyiv region governor Victor Vakarash reported that two people from villages south of the capital were recently hospitalized with flu-like symptoms.

"I've just received a report from the health minister confirming the death of a man from California flu [A(H1N1) flu virus]," Tymoshenko said.

One emergency health worker in Kyiv told the Post on Nov. 4 that at least two Kyiv residents have died from the swine flu and another 90 are sick with flu-like illnesses.

"We are forbidden to make this information public," the health worker said.

__________________ 
Still, there are some out there that are doing nothing to prepare for a possible pandemic of the bird flu. When Denver resident Jeff ... was asked if he was taking precautions, he replied, "Nothing at all, nah. I don't want to freak myself out."