WHO begins investigating pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in western Ukraine

On Wednesday, 4 November 2009, five members of the WHO mission in Ukraine arrived in Lviv, in the western part of the country. Lviv is one of the most affected regions, with more than 100 000 people reportedly sick with influenza-like illness. The team comprises two clinical experts, two epidemiologists and one communicable disease expert, who have been joined by a doctor from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) office in Kyiv. They are visiting some of the affected areas and interviewing medical staff and patients face to face, as part of the investigation of the suspected outbreak of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in the country. The team will spend several days in Lviv before heading to other sites.

From its investigation, the team aims to gain a better understanding of vulnerability to and risk factors for illness, and identify best-practice scenarios for treatment. Before going to Lviv, the epidemiologists spent a morning at the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, in Kyiv, developing documentation that can help strengthen the analysis of the reported outcomes of patients who may have pandemic (H1N1) 2009. The Ministry, which requested assistance from WHO on Friday, 30 October, is providing the investigators with all relevant data, including epidemiological records and clinical case notes.

Working from the WHO mission’s headquarters at the WHO Country Office, Ukraine, virology experts have received further results from the examination of samples submitted earlier by national laboratories in Kyiv to WHO’s reference laboratory in London, United Kingdom, and will share them with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The experts have determined that these results continue to confirm cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus infection.

Communication is a key element of the response to the outbreak. Accurate and clear information can lessen fear and promote effective action. United Nations agencies and their communication focal points spent an afternoon developing a series of action points to help strengthen their messages and outreach to the general public in Ukraine. Despite the heightened alert in the country, everyone can still take very simple but effective measures to slow the spread and reduce the impact of pandemic (H1N1) 2009.