A person in Sumy Region has died of influenza. This is the first lethal case in the 2016-2017 epidemic season, the Centre of Influenza and Acute Respiratory Viral Infections of the Ukrainian Center for Control and Monitoring of Diseases said on 23 November.
In the period from 14 to 20 November, 170,200 Ukrainians fell ill with influenza and SARS. Of these, 68.1 per cent were children aged below 17. The highest rate of 780.8 cases per 100,000 residents was observed in Kyiv Region, while the lowest rate was in Ternopil Region, 213.8 cases per 100,000.
The total incidence rate was 400.4 per 100,000 people, which is 6.3 per cent more than the previous week, although the figure has not yet exceeded the epidemic threshold, the press release reads.
Since the beginning of the epidemiological season in Ukraine, 7,500 people have been vaccinated from flu. Within this group, 7,000 are people with high health risks (those with a high probability of clinical complications) and epidemiological risks (those with a high probability of infection). This number accounts only for 0.27 per cent and 1.2 per cent of the total number of people in these groups.
The highest rate of vaccination was in Mykolaiv Region, where about 1,900 people have been vaccinated against flu.
In the 2015-2016 epidemic season (28 September 2015 to 22 May 2016), 5.8 million Ukrainians fell ill, and 391 people died.
The Health Ministry has said it expected three flu strains to circulate during the epidemiological season of 2016-2017.