Ukrainians stroke by the H1N1 influenza

In several cities, residents complained of having difficulty in finding drugs against influenza.

"I've been in several pharmacies, but I can not find drugs anywhere," said Elena Mikhailova, retiree living in Kiev. "Meanwhile, the flu is progressing," she said while covering her face with a tissue.

Four people died and 13 cases of H1N1 have been confirmed in Ukraine, said Saturday the head of the country's health department, Olexander Bilovol on television.

Mr. Bilovol also said that 36 people had died of pneumonia in four western regions, it is not possible to confirm if these deaths are related to the H1N1 virus.

President Viktor Yushchenko gave much higher figures but referred to all forms of flu combined. According to news agency Interfax, he said that 48 people died and more than 150,000 people were infected.

On Friday, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has ordered the closure of all schools and canceling public gatherings in the country for three weeks, measures are unique in Europe.

The medical chief of the armed forces, Piotr Melnik, for its part, announced Saturday that military service would be interrupted for two or three weeks because of influenza H1N1, according to the agency Ria Novosti.

In Lvov (western Ukraine), some pharmacies were also out of stock, while drivers of buses and trolleybuses and many young people wore masks.

But for Maria Teodorovitch, another retiree, institutions benefit from the panic. "Watch the business here, how many drugs they sold and how much they have increased prices," she said. "People are buying everything they can."

Andrei Kvas, mask on face, however, did not take seriously psychosis. "I wear a mask to laugh. All my classmates are doing, so I do too," said the 20 year old student, whose university has suspended classes because of illness.

Both in Kiev and Lviv, a rumor ran, indicating that toxic substances would be sprayed into the streets to stop the epidemic.

On Friday, the spokesman of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Igor Krol, had called to "not yield to provocations and to believe only the official government information."

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