Swine flu fear grips Ukraine as death toll dramatically rises

Ukraine residents have begun panic-buying face masks and influenza medicines as the death toll from the country's swine flu epidemic rises dramatically in 24 hours.

The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, announced to the country today that the death toll from the H1N1 virus has risen to 50, a dramatic rise from his announcement twenty-hours previously when he'd announced that the toll was 11. The swine flu epidemic appears to be spreading rapidly in Ukraine with latest figures suggesting that 150,000 people are ill with the virus. As a preventative measure, for the next three weeks all playgroups, schools and universities will remain closed and the government has also banned mass gatherings as a precaution. The government, looking at setting up anti-swine flu measures, have announced a package worth 40 million Euros. Since the bird flu epidemic a few years ago the price of flu medications in Ukraine has risen as much as 300 per cent. As an indication of the worry and fear the Ukrainian people are feeling one lady who was queuing for flu medications gave this account, “What can I say? There is no medicine in the chemists. How come nobody prepared for this epidemic? Children are sick. The elderly are sick. There are no masks, not even basic pills. People are queuing and waiting for supplies to come, but nobody knows if they will come or not.”