Swine Flu Follies: Regional Overreactions
RFE/RL – As the swine-flu virus continues to spread through former Soviet Union, the measures taken by some governments range from bizarre and befuddled to possibly political.
Moldova
In Moldova, which has 269 confirmed cases and four reported swine-flu deaths, health officials on November 9 closed schools and universities for a week. The timing of the closure prompted speculation that the country’s university students would capitalize on their sudden free time by turning out to protest the parliament’s failure today to elect pro-Western candidate Marian Lupu as president.
Belarus
Despite his country’s proximity to Ukraine, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is, for now, a swine-flu skeptic. Speaking in Kyiv during a November 5 news conference with Viktor Yushchenko, the Belarusian leader accused pharmaceutical companies of fanning the flames of flu hysteria in order to drive up profits.
There are currently 128 confirmed cases of swine flu in Belarus. A handful of deaths have been attributed to pneumonia.
Ukraine
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko says that country’s swine flu epidemic is stabilizing and that registered flu cases have dropped sharply. Still, with 32,500 registered cases and 155 deaths from respiratory ailments including swine flu, Ukraine remains the site of the largest H1N1 outbreak in continental Europe.
Russia
Authorities have imposed a “mask regime” in Russia’s Far East region of Khabarovsk, where more than 318 cases of swine flu have been reported.
Transportation and food-service workers are now required to wear surgical masks at all times while on the job.
Chechnya
Health officials in Chechnya say there have been no registered cases of swine flu in the North Caucasus republic.
Azerbaijan
Remember bird flu? Azerbaijanis do. The World Bank allotted $5.1 million to Azerbaijan for its battle against avian flu in 2006. Of that, just $3.6 million was transferred to fight the pandemic — leaving Azerbaijanis to speculate what might have happened to the remaining $1.5 million.
This time around, the government has promised to provide free swine-flu vaccines but has yet to receive any stocks. Private clinics, meanwhile, have adopted the entrepreneurial spirit, offering flu vaccines for $30 apiece — an extravagance in a country where the average monthly salary is just $380.
Turkmenistan
A well-intentioned but apparently misguided attempt by Turkmen authorities to inform citizens about the risks of swine flu has ended. In October, correspondents in Ashgabat reported that one-page leaflets explaining flu symptoms and preventative measures were being distributed among the population.
The hitch was that the leaflets discussed bird flu, not swine flu.
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