Ukraine's epidemic of flu and acute respiratory disorders has now
affected more than a million people, the country's deputy health
minister said on Wednesday.
Vasyl Lazoryshynets said the death toll
from the epidemic had risen to 174, as President Viktor Yushchenko
warned the country must brace itself for a second wave of infections. Nearly
53,000 Ukrainians have now been hospitalised, Lazoryshynets said, but
the number in intensive care has fallen by nearly a quarter to around
330. A total of 67 cases of swine flu have been reported in Ukraine, he said, 14 of which had been fatal. "Ukraine
must prepare properly for a second wave of respiratory infections and
flu," including A(H1N1), Yushchenko said Tuesday, according to the
Interfax news agency. A World Health Organisation (WHO) team in Ukraine said on Monday the epidemic had slowed, but warned a second wave was likely. On
Monday the health ministry's previous bulletin on the epidemic, which
began in mid-October, reported 969,000 infections, with 155 deaths and
65 cases of A(H1N1).
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