Ukrainian Leaders Say Swine Flu Under Control

On the streets of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on November 9

KYIV -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said after meeting with a World Health Organization (WHO) delegation in Kyiv that the country's flu epidemic is stabilizing, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.

She said the problem peaked on November 4 when more than 127,000 people were registered as suffering from influenza and respiratory ailments.

She said that by November 8 that number had decreased to some 32,500.

Meanwhile, President Viktor Yushchenko has told Channel 5 television that there is no need to declare an emergency situation in the country because of the flu.

Tymoshenko ordered schools in the country to stay closed for three weeks and there has been a ban on public gatherings.

Ukraine's Health Ministry has reported that a total of 155 people have died from flu and other respiratory diseases in the last several weeks.

Ukraine has had the largest outbreak of swine flu in continental Europe, with most of the infections occurring in the western part of the country.