Ukraine flu death toll goes up - British labs test to ID flu as H1N1, Spanish flu, or something else

In the Ukraine, a strain of the flu has infected 1.4 million people. The death toll, according to the Ukraine Health Ministry, is at 315 people as of November 16, 2009. The World Bank Database gives the estimated population for the Ukraine as a little over 46 million. While the percentages do not appear high, the reported symptoms and contagion patterns of this flu are of concern to some doctors. The virus is being tested at the Medical Research Council laboratories, in Britain.

Symptoms of the Ukrainian flu

"We don't believe it's H1N1 swine flu. Neither do we know what kind of pneumonia it is," states Ukrainian emergency physician Myron Borysevych. The Daily Mail states that doctors are likening this strain of the flu to the Spanish flu, which included internal hemorrhage and edema in the lungs.

World Health Organization Comments about Ukrainian flu

Last week, the World Health Organization team working in the Ukraine stated that there would be a second wave of the epidemic. This prediction appears to be coming true. The Ukraine Health Ministry reports 16 new deaths in the past day alone.

Testing of the Ukraine flu virus is underway

Samples of the Ukraine flu virus were provided to a British lab, for testing to conclusively subtype the virus. Learning whether the virus is a mutated form of the H1N1 swine flu, or an entirely new type of flu virus, will help health officials and members of the public take necessary measures for protection from this deadly disease.

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