Poland urges EU meeting on Ukraine flu threat
ANDREW RETTMAN
04.11.2009 @ 09:29 CET
Poland has asked the Swedish EU presidency to call an emergency session of EU health ministers to discuss help for Ukraine amid an explosive outbreak of flu.
"The character of this threat demands that rapid action be undertaken at the European Union level," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote this week to his Swedish counterpart, in a letter obtained by Reuters. "This will serve both the interests of Ukraine, and the EU itself."
Central Kiev - the country has also suffered an economic crisis, a protracted political crisis and threats of gas cut-offs from Russia this year (Photo: EUUBC)
Seventy one people have died in the past week in Ukraine after contracting flu, with another 240 people in a serious condition in hospitals and over 250,000 reported cases of flu-like infection.
Blood tests are yet to confirm if the outbreak concerns the A/H1N1 variety known as "swine flu." But the pace of the infection has caused severe concern, with Ukraine closing down schools, banning large public gatherings and setting up hotlines.
"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 appealing for international help on Wednesday.
EU countries Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania share land borders with Ukraine, with the epicentre of the outbreak in western Ukrainian towns such as Lviv and Ternopil.
Polish papers report that Slovakia has already sent 200,000 protective masks to its neighbour, Romania has sent 1,200 masks and Poland has begun shipping Tamiflu, respirators, masks and protective clothing. Russia and Slovakia have reportedly tightened border controls.
Polish unease has been compounded by the situation in Belarus, a closed, authoritarian country which shares borders with Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
Belarus NGO Charter 97 on Tuesday alleged that Belarus is concealing a large outbreak of its own and that authorities have asked doctors to sign statements of non-disclosure, in claims denied by Minsk.
