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Ukraine Update: H1N1 Quarantine

 

 

# 3912

 

This story is updated  at

WHO Dispatching Team To Ukraine

 

 

Yesterday I reported on an outbreak of an `unknown disease’ that had claimed at least 22 lives (see Reports Out Of The Ukraine).   While test results were pending, it appeared that this outbreak was most probably due to the pandemic H1N1 virus.

 

Today, Ukrainian officials have confirmed that it has been identified as the H1N1 pandemic virus, and have announced extraordinary measures including partial quarantines, school closures, and travel restrictions will be utilized to try to slow the spread of the flu.

 

The newshounds at FluTrackers have been all over this story for several days, with now over 150 posts on their Ukraine: at least 30 die of swine flu - most were "young and healthy  and Ukraine - H1N1 - 37 fatalities suspected - 11 confirmed threads.

 

Hogweed brings us this report from KyivPost, the Ukraine’s largest English Language newspaper.   Their server is heavily burdened today, and load times can be delayed.

 

Quarantine ordered

 

Ukrainian government imposes quarantine in nine western regions

Quarantine ordered
Today at 14:06

Ukraine suffered its first death from swine flu, as the government declared a massive quarantine and control effort to head off a possible epidemic, the Interfax news agency reported. The victim was a man living in Ukraine's western Lviv region, said Health Ministry spokesman Roman Pavliv.

 

The government announcement one week after reports surfaced of as many as 30 deaths potentially caused by swine flu, all in Ukraine's western provinces.

 

The Health Minister currently was monitoring 22 persons in the region showing swine flu symptoms, of which one had been confirmed as suffering from full-blown swine flu, according to the report.

 

"Unfortunately, we can state that there is in fact a swine flu epidemic in the country," said Vasyl Kniazhevych, Ukraine's Health Minister, at a Kyiv press conference. "We have a lot of work to do."

 

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko ordered a massive and for Ukraine unprecedented disease-control program to go into effect immediately in an attempt to prevent the spread of the disease.

 

Schools nationwide will close for three weeks, and "all mass gatherings will be forbidden," Tymoshenko said, in comments reported by Channel 5 television.

 

The bans would come at the height of Ukraine's football season and autumn school semester. They would hinder much political campaigning planned by candidates in the January presidential elections.

 

A "full quarantine" will be imposed in nine of Ukraine's western provinces, with police monitoring the entrance and exit of all persons, she said. It will block those lacking justification for travel.

 

Read the remainder of the story here.

 

Other reports include this one from Reuters, posted by Dutchy.

 

Ukraine shuts schools,cancels public events due H1N1

Fri Oct 30, 2009


(Adds schools closed, public events banned)


KIEV, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Friday closed schools, banned all public events and imposed restrictions on people's movements around the country for a three-week period after confirming its first death from H1N1 swine flu.


"All educational institutions without exception ... will be switched on to a three-week holiday period," Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced. She indicated this period could be extended if it was deemed necessary.

 

"Apart from this, we will take the decision to cancel all mass meetings ... for three weeks," she said at an emergency government session.

 

"We will introduce a special system to stop unnecessary travel by people from one region to another," she added.

(Continue. . . )

 

While I’ll keep a watch on this evolving story, and bring you the highlights, the best place I know of to follow the hour-by-hour developments are on these FluTrackers threads.

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H1N1

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