Pneumonia Death of Belarus Doctor Near Ukraine Border

Pneumonia Death of Belarus Doctor Near Ukraine Border
Recombinomics Commentary 18:41
November 9, 2009

A worker of the scientific and practical centre of radiation medicine in Homel has died from pneumonia.
This fact has been confirmed to BelaPAN by the head of the Health Care directorate of Homel regional executive committee Mikalai Vasilkou.
As said by him, the worker of the centre was taken to the emergency hospital with acute respiratory failure. "On Friday we received confirmation from anatomical pathologists that the woman died of hard total pneumonia," the head of the directorate stated.
As the BelaPAN has found out, the deceased was about 30, she had a maternity leave recently. She worked in the ultrasonography diagnostics department of the centre.
Mikalai Vasilkou added that there are other death cases from pneumonia, but they are to be confirmed by anatomical pathology centres still.
The above translation describes a pneumonia death of a Doctor in Gomel, which is in Belarus near the Ukraine border (see map). The report describes additional pneumonia deaths in the area.  Belarus has acknowledged 20 deaths and widespread H1N1 including excessive absenteeism in schools.  These deaths raise concerns that the spike in cases in Ukraine is being mirrored in Belarus.
In Ukraine the number of cases has exceeded 1 million and the latest count on reported deaths is 174. Include are 6 health care workers who have died and over 2000 have been ill. Samples have been sent to Mill Hill in London, but there has been no detail on sequencing results, and sequences have not been released.
Comparison of sequences from fatal cases in Belarus and Ukraine would be useful.