2009 flu pandemic in Ukraine
Encyclopedia
The 2009 flu pandemic
is a global outbreak
of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1, first identified in April 2009, termed Pandemic H1N1/09 virus
by the World Health Organization
(WHO) and colloquially called swine flu. The outbreak was first observed in Mexico
, and quickly spread globally. On the 11th June 2009, WHO declared the outbreak to be a pandemic. The overwhelming majority of patients experience mild symptoms", but some persons are in higher risk groups, such as those with asthma
, diabetes, obesity
, heart disease
, or who are pregnant or have a weakened immune system
. In the rare severe cases, around 3–5 days after symptoms manifest, the sufferer's condition declines quickly, often to the point respiratory failure
. Although Ukraine
was not (very) affected at first there was on outbreak of the virus in Western Ukraine
early November 2009 which lead to the closing of public buildings and meetings for three weeks.
As of December 2009 more than two million people have fallen ill since Ukraine's flu epidemic began and about 500 people of those died of flu and flu-like illnesses and its complications (pneumonia
) of the 46 million people living in Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the most affected (8th) by swine flu country's in Europe.
According to Ukrainian Justice Minister Mykola Onischuk the epidemiological situation during October–December 2009 hasn't influenced the death rate in Ukraine.
Ukraine has two laboratories capable of identifying influenza strains.
via Paris
at Kiev
's Boryspil Airport
on May 29, 2009. Before that imports of pork and live pigs from all affected countries had been banned. The ban applied to all shipments after April 21, 2009.
A second swine flu case (in Ukraine) was confirmed on September 29, 2009.
. Schools and universities in Ternopil were closed.
Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) mentioned (on November 4) rumours about a plane said to have flown over the capital of Ukraine, Kiev
, releasing powder containing a mutated variety of the A(H1N1) virus.
On 30 October 2009, Ukrainian Ministry of Health confirmed 11 new cases of swine flu, and the first death from it. An epidemic was declared and nine out of 25 regions
of Ukraine were put under quarantine, on November 5, 2009 Kirovohrad
became the 10th. Due to the outbreak public meetings, including cinema, were forbidden nationwide and all educational institutions
were closed for three weeks (subject to extension if necessary). Conscription into the Ukrainian army was also suspended, and the Professional Football League of Ukraine
postponed football matches in the Ukrainian First League
and Second League
.
to Ukraine on November 1, 2009 for distribution among hospitals for free.
On November 2, 2009, at Ukraine's request, the WHO sent a team of nine experts to determine if the same strain of swine flu was responsible for the 70 recent deaths from acute respiratory illness in the country.
According to the Ukrainian Health Ministry as of November 2, 2009 the number of people who have died of influenza and respiratory diseases has reached 60, the number of people suffering from the flu is 200,000 and about 22 patients tested positive for swine flu. On November 5, 2009 the Ministry said the death toll of patients with flu-related and acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) had jumped to 95. 15 of 31 patient samples sent to London
for laboratory analysis tested positive for the H1N1 virus.
As of November 6, 2009 twenty-eight cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Ukraine. Thirteen of these cases were in people who were dead by this point. The Ukrainian health ministry estimated that Ukraine required 12.5 million doses of vaccine against swine flu. Four days later, on November 10, 2009 the number of confirmed cases had risen to 67. However only one more person had died. 1,031,587 people in Ukraine had contracted flu or a flu-like illness by then and of them 52,742 where hospitalized at the time of the report. Since there had been 174 deaths from acute respiratory viral infections and other patients had recovered, this number is less than the total hospitalizations related to flu and flu-like illnesses.
At this point it was determined to implement a policy so that if at least one person had been diagnosed with swine flu in any region of Ukrain everyone in that region diagnosed with the flu would receive swine flu treatment.
On November 17, 2009, the WHO issued a statement that there were no significant differences between the pandemic H1N1 strain, and the Ukrainian strains tested.
Starting on November 18, 2009 the Ukrainian ministry of health stopped publishing separate statistics on cases of A/H1N1 influenza. Regional commissions were given the power to cancel quarantines of higher educational establishments on November 20.
On November 23 in the regions where the epidemic threshold for flu and respiratory infections wasn't reached educational institutions opened again; for instance on November 25, 2009 all educational institutions and kindergartens in Kiev resumed work.
and Khmelnytsky
regions.
On December 7, 2009 more than two million people had fallen ill since Ukraine's flu epidemic began with 88 patients at the time in intensive care. At the time about 46 million people lived in Ukraine.
On December 8, 2009 468 people have died of flu and flu-like illnesses and its complications (pneumonia
) in Ukraine with a total of 128,851 people that had been hospitalized since the start of the epidemic (October 29) and 102,510 people discharged from hospitals. On December 8 the epidemic threshold was still exceeded in Vinnytsia
, Dnipropetrovsk
, Kirovohrad
, Luhansk
and Sumy
regions.
As of December 2009 Ukrainian and World Health Organization officials have warned of a second and third wave of the flu epidemic starting in late December 2009 and early 2010. As of December 23, WHO
says that H1N1 is resurging in Ukraine, as well as in Serbia
and Turkey
, with increasing influenza like illness (ILI),and acute respritory illness (ARI).
As of December 28, 652 people have died since the epidemic started in late October. At the time 258 people were in intensive care with dozens on respirators. More than 200,000 people have been hospitalized. Late December 2009 saw a high influenza activity in the Eastern Ukrainian provinces Donetsk Oblast
and Luhansk Oblast
.
Overall the spread of acute respiratory infections in Ukraine passed over a second peak late December 2009, almost three times up on the same time a year ago.
says that intense A/H1N1 virus activity continues in Ukraine, as well as in several other eastern Europe countries. As of January 23 Ukrainian health officials expect a second surge of flu and respiratory infections to strike early in February 2010.
The number of those who have died of flu and flu-like illnesses in Ukraine had increased to 940 people on January 12, 2010 with the epidemic threshold being exceeded in Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Poltava, Sumy regions and Crimea; according to the Ukrainian Health Ministry. This number increased to 1,019 people on January 21, 2010 with the epidemic threshold being exceeded in the Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Poltava and Sumy regions.
to be vaccinated (after several persons allegedly died after vaccinations in 2008 and 2009) was partly the cause for the epidemic.
According to Ukrainian doctors the Government of Ukraine
had provided no public information and taken no precautionary measures to prevent the pandemic. In November, the WHO praised the Ukrainian government for the measures it took to prevent the spread of the flu epidemic in Ukraine. According to a poll carried out by the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine in November 2009 Ukrainian citizens had mainly negative feelings about measures being taken by the government to fight the flu epidemic. According to the poll, 49.8% of respondents made a negative assessment of the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers
(37.4% a positive one), 44.8% the Health Ministry (28.1% positive), 57.4% the president
and his secretariat
(18.8% positive), and 50.4% the Verkhovna Rada
(parliament of Ukraine) (18.6% positive).
Ukrainian annalist have suggested that politicians, mainly Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
and Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko
, have tried to use the pandemic to score political points with the January 2010 presidential election
in mind. This has been denied. According to a poll by Research & Branding Group
the majority of Ukrainians think that the epidemic of flu will not affect the presidential elections. According to a November 2009 poll by FOM-Ukraine
33.3% of Ukrainians think that the public panic about the flu epidemic helped Prime Minister Tymoshenko the most, while 28.7% said it was a boost for all politicians (other individual politicians where polled at <10%). Asked what caused the panic, 45.6% pointed to the media, and 20.3% to government representatives.
According to the Ukrainian Health Ministry the average daily number of legalities caused by flu in 2009 was lower than in 2008, when it was 18.
During the pandemic Ukrainians started to eat onions and garlic (in Lviv
, the price of garlic had skyrocketed in November 2009), took vitamins, spent more time at home, and drank alcoholic beverages in order to protect themselves from flu and flu-like illnesses.
As of mid-December 2009 the Verkhovna Rada
(Ukraine's parliament) has allocated over 600 million hryvnya to fight the flu epidemic in Ukraine.
, Sweden
, Bulgaria
, Moldova
, Iceland
, Ireland
and Russia
) in Europe. Furthermore, Belarus
, Kazakhstan
, Poland
, various regions of Russia, Northern Ireland
, Turkey
, Finland
, and Ukraine had a high sickness rate of А/Н1N1 flu.
According to Jukka Pukkila, head of a WHO international mission to Ukraine, "there is no difference concerning the rate of A/H1N1 flu infection in Ukraine compared to other countries". WHO tests of the H1N1 pandemic virus samples taken from Ukrainian patients haven't exposed any signs of mutation.
A total of 22 countries have assisted Ukraine in fighting its flu epidemic.
Background information
2009 flu pandemic
The 2009 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the second of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus , albeit in a new version...
is a global outbreak
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1, first identified in April 2009, termed Pandemic H1N1/09 virus
Pandemic H1N1/09 virus
The Pandemic H1N1/09 virus is a swine origin Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 virus strain responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic. For other names see the Nomenclature section below.-Virus characteristics:...
by the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO) and colloquially called swine flu. The outbreak was first observed in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and quickly spread globally. On the 11th June 2009, WHO declared the outbreak to be a pandemic. The overwhelming majority of patients experience mild symptoms", but some persons are in higher risk groups, such as those with asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
, diabetes, obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
, heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
, or who are pregnant or have a weakened immune system
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
. In the rare severe cases, around 3–5 days after symptoms manifest, the sufferer's condition declines quickly, often to the point respiratory failure
Respiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
. Although Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
was not (very) affected at first there was on outbreak of the virus in Western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
early November 2009 which lead to the closing of public buildings and meetings for three weeks.
As of December 2009 more than two million people have fallen ill since Ukraine's flu epidemic began and about 500 people of those died of flu and flu-like illnesses and its complications (pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
) of the 46 million people living in Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the most affected (8th) by swine flu country's in Europe.
According to Ukrainian Justice Minister Mykola Onischuk the epidemiological situation during October–December 2009 hasn't influenced the death rate in Ukraine.
Ukraine has two laboratories capable of identifying influenza strains.
First cases
The virus reached Ukraine on 5 June 2009 when the first case of the virus was officially confirmed in Ukraine. The patient concerned, a 24-year-old Ukrainian citizen, had arrived from New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
via Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
's Boryspil Airport
Boryspil Airport
Boryspil International Airport is an international airport located west of Boryspil, east of Kiev. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving the major part of international flights of the country, and is one of three airports that serve Kiev, along with the smaller Zhulyany Airport and Gostomel...
on May 29, 2009. Before that imports of pork and live pigs from all affected countries had been banned. The ban applied to all shipments after April 21, 2009.
A second swine flu case (in Ukraine) was confirmed on September 29, 2009.
October 2009
On October 27, 2009, an outbreak of influenza-like illness and deaths of seven people from its complications have been reported in Ternopil regionTernopil Oblast
Ternopil Oblast is an oblast' of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Ternopil, through which flows the Seret River, a tributary of the Dnister.-Geography:...
. Schools and universities in Ternopil were closed.
Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) mentioned (on November 4) rumours about a plane said to have flown over the capital of Ukraine, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, releasing powder containing a mutated variety of the A(H1N1) virus.
On 30 October 2009, Ukrainian Ministry of Health confirmed 11 new cases of swine flu, and the first death from it. An epidemic was declared and nine out of 25 regions
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
of Ukraine were put under quarantine, on November 5, 2009 Kirovohrad
Kirovohrad Oblast
Kirovohrad Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kirovohrad.-Geography:The area of the province is , its population is 1.1 million....
became the 10th. Due to the outbreak public meetings, including cinema, were forbidden nationwide and all educational institutions
Education in Ukraine
There is nearly 100% literacy in Ukraine.11 years of schooling are mandatory. As a rule, schooling begins at the age of 6..According to Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn the amount of budget financing for the sphere of education reached about 6% of Ukraine's GDP in November...
were closed for three weeks (subject to extension if necessary). Conscription into the Ukrainian army was also suspended, and the Professional Football League of Ukraine
Professional Football League of Ukraine
Professional Football League of Ukraine is a sport organization that represents the Union of all professional level clubs in Ukraine. The League organizes the football competition for football clubs in the second and the third level of the Ukrainian league system...
postponed football matches in the Ukrainian First League
Ukrainian First League
The Persha Liha or Ukrainian First League is a football league in Ukraine and the second tier of national football competitions. Members of the league also participate in the Ukrainian Cup...
and Second League
Ukrainian Second League
The Ukrainian Second League is a professional football league in Ukraine which is part of the Professional Football League of Ukraine. The league is lower than the Ukrainian First League and the lowest level of professional football competitions in the country. Druha Liha is the third level of...
.
November 2009
A large shipment of Tamiflu was delivered from SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to Ukraine on November 1, 2009 for distribution among hospitals for free.
On November 2, 2009, at Ukraine's request, the WHO sent a team of nine experts to determine if the same strain of swine flu was responsible for the 70 recent deaths from acute respiratory illness in the country.
According to the Ukrainian Health Ministry as of November 2, 2009 the number of people who have died of influenza and respiratory diseases has reached 60, the number of people suffering from the flu is 200,000 and about 22 patients tested positive for swine flu. On November 5, 2009 the Ministry said the death toll of patients with flu-related and acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) had jumped to 95. 15 of 31 patient samples sent to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for laboratory analysis tested positive for the H1N1 virus.
As of November 6, 2009 twenty-eight cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Ukraine. Thirteen of these cases were in people who were dead by this point. The Ukrainian health ministry estimated that Ukraine required 12.5 million doses of vaccine against swine flu. Four days later, on November 10, 2009 the number of confirmed cases had risen to 67. However only one more person had died. 1,031,587 people in Ukraine had contracted flu or a flu-like illness by then and of them 52,742 where hospitalized at the time of the report. Since there had been 174 deaths from acute respiratory viral infections and other patients had recovered, this number is less than the total hospitalizations related to flu and flu-like illnesses.
At this point it was determined to implement a policy so that if at least one person had been diagnosed with swine flu in any region of Ukrain everyone in that region diagnosed with the flu would receive swine flu treatment.
On November 17, 2009, the WHO issued a statement that there were no significant differences between the pandemic H1N1 strain, and the Ukrainian strains tested.
Starting on November 18, 2009 the Ukrainian ministry of health stopped publishing separate statistics on cases of A/H1N1 influenza. Regional commissions were given the power to cancel quarantines of higher educational establishments on November 20.
On November 23 in the regions where the epidemic threshold for flu and respiratory infections wasn't reached educational institutions opened again; for instance on November 25, 2009 all educational institutions and kindergartens in Kiev resumed work.
December 2009
As of December 2, 2009 445 people had died of flu and flu-like illnesses with a total of 116,982 people hospitalized since the start of the epidemic (October 29, 2009). Of those hospitalized, 93,213 people had at the time been discharged from hospitals. On December 2 the epidemic threshold was still exceeded in the ZakarpattiaZakarpattia Oblast
The Zakarpattia Oblast is an administrative oblast located in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Uzhhorod...
and Khmelnytsky
Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast is an oblast of western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Khmelnytskyi.The current estimated population is around 1,401,140 .-Geography:...
regions.
On December 7, 2009 more than two million people had fallen ill since Ukraine's flu epidemic began with 88 patients at the time in intensive care. At the time about 46 million people lived in Ukraine.
On December 8, 2009 468 people have died of flu and flu-like illnesses and its complications (pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
) in Ukraine with a total of 128,851 people that had been hospitalized since the start of the epidemic (October 29) and 102,510 people discharged from hospitals. On December 8 the epidemic threshold was still exceeded in Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia Oblast
Vinnytsia Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Vinnytsia.-Geography:The area of the region is 26,500 km²; its population is 1.7 million....
, Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is an oblast of central Ukraine, the most important industrial region of the country. Its administrative center is Dnipropetrovsk....
, Kirovohrad
Kirovohrad Oblast
Kirovohrad Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kirovohrad.-Geography:The area of the province is , its population is 1.1 million....
, Luhansk
Luhansk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast ) is the easternmost oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the name Voroshilovgrad Oblast in honor of Kliment Voroshilov....
and Sumy
Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast is an oblast in the northeastern part of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy.Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka....
regions.
As of December 2009 Ukrainian and World Health Organization officials have warned of a second and third wave of the flu epidemic starting in late December 2009 and early 2010. As of December 23, WHO
Who
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
says that H1N1 is resurging in Ukraine, as well as in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, with increasing influenza like illness (ILI),and acute respritory illness (ARI).
As of December 28, 652 people have died since the epidemic started in late October. At the time 258 people were in intensive care with dozens on respirators. More than 200,000 people have been hospitalized. Late December 2009 saw a high influenza activity in the Eastern Ukrainian provinces Donetsk Oblast
Donetsk Oblast
Donetsk Oblast is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Donetsk. Historically, the province is an important part of the Donbas region...
and Luhansk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast ) is the easternmost oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the name Voroshilovgrad Oblast in honor of Kliment Voroshilov....
.
Overall the spread of acute respiratory infections in Ukraine passed over a second peak late December 2009, almost three times up on the same time a year ago.
January 2010
As of January 8 the WHOWho
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
says that intense A/H1N1 virus activity continues in Ukraine, as well as in several other eastern Europe countries. As of January 23 Ukrainian health officials expect a second surge of flu and respiratory infections to strike early in February 2010.
The number of those who have died of flu and flu-like illnesses in Ukraine had increased to 940 people on January 12, 2010 with the epidemic threshold being exceeded in Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Poltava, Sumy regions and Crimea; according to the Ukrainian Health Ministry. This number increased to 1,019 people on January 21, 2010 with the epidemic threshold being exceeded in the Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Poltava and Sumy regions.
(Alleged) reasons for pandemic and reactions
According to Chief State Sanitary Doctor Oleksandr Bilovol, the mass refusal by UkrainiansUkrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
to be vaccinated (after several persons allegedly died after vaccinations in 2008 and 2009) was partly the cause for the epidemic.
According to Ukrainian doctors the Government of Ukraine
Government of Ukraine
Government of Ukraine is often associated with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. However it should be considered that Ukraine is a country under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government...
had provided no public information and taken no precautionary measures to prevent the pandemic. In November, the WHO praised the Ukrainian government for the measures it took to prevent the spread of the flu epidemic in Ukraine. According to a poll carried out by the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine in November 2009 Ukrainian citizens had mainly negative feelings about measures being taken by the government to fight the flu epidemic. According to the poll, 49.8% of respondents made a negative assessment of the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers
Second Tymoshenko Government
The second Tymoshenko Government was appointed on December 18, 2007 as a coalition between Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko and Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc , OU-PSD is the party of then-President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko, following the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election...
(37.4% a positive one), 44.8% the Health Ministry (28.1% positive), 57.4% the president
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
and his secretariat
Secretariat of the President of Ukraine
The Presidential Administration or unofficially Bankova is an administrative body set up to assist the President of Ukraine, Ukraine's head of state. The main purpose of the Administration is to provide administrative, advisory, analytical, and legal assistance to the President...
(18.8% positive), and 50.4% the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
(parliament of Ukraine) (18.6% positive).
Ukrainian annalist have suggested that politicians, mainly Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
and Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
, have tried to use the pandemic to score political points with the January 2010 presidential election
Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
The Ukrainian presidential election of 2010 is Ukraine's fifth presidential election since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The first round was held on January 17, 2010...
in mind. This has been denied. According to a poll by Research & Branding Group
Research & Branding Group
Research & Branding Group is a Ukrainian non-governmental marketing and sociological research company.Worked with Party of Regions during several latest elections....
the majority of Ukrainians think that the epidemic of flu will not affect the presidential elections. According to a November 2009 poll by FOM-Ukraine
FOM-Ukraine
The FOM-Ukraine is political sociology company in Ukraine. It is joint venture of FOM company favoring Viktor Yanukovych were the only allowed to be publicized on TV during Ukrainian presidential election in 2004. All others polling was censored....
33.3% of Ukrainians think that the public panic about the flu epidemic helped Prime Minister Tymoshenko the most, while 28.7% said it was a boost for all politicians (other individual politicians where polled at <10%). Asked what caused the panic, 45.6% pointed to the media, and 20.3% to government representatives.
According to the Ukrainian Health Ministry the average daily number of legalities caused by flu in 2009 was lower than in 2008, when it was 18.
During the pandemic Ukrainians started to eat onions and garlic (in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, the price of garlic had skyrocketed in November 2009), took vitamins, spent more time at home, and drank alcoholic beverages in order to protect themselves from flu and flu-like illnesses.
As of mid-December 2009 the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
(Ukraine's parliament) has allocated over 600 million hryvnya to fight the flu epidemic in Ukraine.
Comparisons with other European countries
From the data collected from 43 European countries, on 13 November 2009 the WHO announced that Ukraine had the 8th highest infection rate of A/H1N1 (following NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) in Europe. Furthermore, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, various regions of Russia, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, and Ukraine had a high sickness rate of А/Н1N1 flu.
According to Jukka Pukkila, head of a WHO international mission to Ukraine, "there is no difference concerning the rate of A/H1N1 flu infection in Ukraine compared to other countries". WHO tests of the H1N1 pandemic virus samples taken from Ukrainian patients haven't exposed any signs of mutation.
A total of 22 countries have assisted Ukraine in fighting its flu epidemic.
See also
- H1N1H1N1'Influenza A virus is a subtype of influenza A virus and was the most common cause of human influenza in 2009. Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a small fraction of all seasonal influenza. H1N1 strains caused a few percent of...
- 2009 swine flu pandemic
- 2009 flu pandemic vaccine2009 flu pandemic vaccineThe 2009 flu pandemic vaccines are the set of influenza vaccines that have been developed to protect against the pandemic H1N1/09 virus. These vaccines either contain inactivated influenza virus, or weakened live virus that cannot cause influenza. The killed vaccine is injected, while the live...
- Swine influenza
- UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
- InfluenzaInfluenzaInfluenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
External links
Official status reports- H1N1 outbreak status report, at the European CDC
- Swine influenza updates, at the World Health Organisation
Background information
- WHO's Pandemic Influenza Phases
- Influenza Research Database – Database of influenza genomic sequences and related information.
- Medical Encyclopedia Medline Plus: Swine Flu
- Medical Encyclopedia WebMD: Swine Flu Centre