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EPIDEMICS
Ukraine flu epidemic slows but new wave possible: officials

Turkey's swine flu toll hits 30
Ankara (AFP) Nov 9, 2009 - The death toll from swine flu climbed to 30 in Turkey on Monday as the health ministry said the disease claimed three more lives. A three-year-old girl, a nine-year-old boy and a 40-year-old man were the latest victims of the A(H1N1) virus, the ministry said in a brief statement. Swine flu deaths in Turkey have risen steadily since the first fatality was reported on October 24. On November 2 hospitals began vaccinating medical workers and people planning to travel to Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage -- the first move in a campaign to vaccinate 28 million of the country's population of 71 million.

Austria launches (A)H1N1 vaccination campaign
Vienna (AFP) Nov 9, 2009 - Austria launched a nationwide swine flu vaccination campaign on Monday, a week after reporting its first death from the (A)H1N1 virus. In Vienna, people queued up from the early morning to get their first shots, although vaccinations were still being done on a voluntary basis. Until now, inoculations had been reserved for nurses, doctors and hospital staff. President Heinz Fischer also received a shot on Monday in the presence of photographers. Shortly after the outbreak of the virus, Austria ordered enough vaccines for the entire population of 8.3 million. So far, more than 760 people have been infected with the virus, but the figures have jumped in recent weeks. Last Monday, an 11-year-old Italian girl who had been brought to hospital in the western town of Innsbruck became the first person in Austria to die of swine flu.
by Staff Writers
 Kiev (AFP) Nov 9, 2009
 An epidemic of flu and acute respiratory disorders has slowed down in Ukraine, officials said Monday, as the World Health Organization warned of a possible second wave of infections.

"In the last few days, the number of patients falling ill per day has fallen," Ukraine's deputy health minister, Vasyl Lazoryshynets, said at a news conference.

The number of new cases peaked on November 4 when more than 127,000 cases were registered. By Sunday, only 32,000 new cases were registered, Lazoryshynets said.

Almost one million Ukrainians have been affected by the epidemic since it started in mid-October. Around 49,000 have been hospitalised and 155 have died, Lazoryshynets said.

Among these, 65 cases of swine flu have been officially registered and 14 people have died of the A(H1N1) virus, a health ministry official tracking the epidemic, Mikhailo Golubchikov, told journalists.

A World Health Organization delegation has spent a week in Ukraine and on Monday met President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

A spokesman for the delegation confirmed the drop in new cases, but raised the possibility of a new wave of cases in the next few months.

"At the moment, we can see it has slowed down, but we cannot say whether it has been overcome," Christian Lindmeier told AFP.

"In general worldwide, we're thinking about three waves: one now, one in midwinter, in January and February, and one later," Lindmeier said. "In Ukraine, it's not clear how the virus will continue," he added.

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EPIDEMICS
Afghan swine flu toll rises to 11: minister
 Kabul (AFP) Nov 9, 2009
 Afghanistan's death toll from swine flu has risen to 11, the health minister said Monday, after the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the virus gaining intensity in the poverty-stricken nation. "So far, we have 11 people who have died from this disease in the country. All have been Afghans," Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatemi told reporters. He said nearly 780 people were infected with ... read more






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