LEvko is astonished at the panic in Ukraine and the way over-the-top reaction from the government and politicians over the
swine flu epidemic which has hit the country. There is
even talk of the president establishing a state of emergency and possibly postponing the presidential elections.
The United Kingdom has been
hit harder than most
countries by swine flu - there have been well over one hundred swine
flu-related deaths since the start of the current outbreak - but if
Ukrainian visitors to this blog read
this advice from the BBC, then maybe they will be able to sleep more soundly tonight.
The
British National Health Service latest information bulletin on this
virus says : "As in other countries, most of the cases reported so far
in the UK have been mild. Only a small number have led to serious
illness, and these have often been in patients with existing health
problems, such as cancer, that already weakened their immune systems.."
Sadly, for an unlucky few, swine flu
will mean hospitalisation. And one has to remember that even normal seasonal flu kills over 250,000 people in the world every year.
Ukrainian
politicians would do better to take a good look at Ukraine’s appalling
life expectancy figures. Major causes of premature deaths in the
country are the smoking of cigarettes and excessive alcohol
consumption. A ban on advertising these products and restricting their
availability would help save countless lives, but it won’t happen
because there’s too much money being to made from their sale. Much
easier to show "decisive leadership" and determined action over the flu
epidemic, and scare the the population out of its wits - no doubt
increasing the sales of cure-all vodka even more...
p.s. I ’phoned the official goverment swine flu information hot-line today...all I got was crackling..