From the ArcaMax Publishing, News & Features Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/newsheadlines/s-642536-760831
BRUSSELS (UPI) -- An explosive outbreak of influenza in Ukraine is
worrying EU member nations that border it, observers say.
Kiev has issued a call for international help in obtaining anti-viral
drugs, saying 71 people have died in the past week and another 240
people hospitalized in serious condition among more than 250,000
reported cases of flu-like infection, the EUobserver reported
Wednesday.
The publication said blood tests have not confirmed the presence of
the H1N1 variety known as "swine flu," but the rapid pace of the
infections have prompted a high level of concern among Ukraine's
neighbors.
"The priority is to obtain the Tamiflu anti-viral drug, as well as
antibiotics, respirators, protective masks and test kits for
identifying the A/H1N1 virus," the Ukrainian government said in a
statement Wednesday.
EU countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania that share
land borders with Ukraine are worried, and are offering help. The
EUobserver reported that Polish newspapers are saying Slovakia has
already sent 200,000 protective masks to Ukraine.
Warsaw is also reportedly concerned about the flu situation in Belarus
because of that country's closed, authoritarian government. The
publication said critics contend Belarus is concealing a large flu
outbreak.