something to keep an eye on

reports coming out of Ukraine and neighbouring regions that H1N1 'flu strain may be getting nasty in spots

too early to tell for sure, but there are consistent reports out of Ukraine, and also possibly Belarus and Romania, that the local H1N1 'flu strain is a bit more aggressive, making a higher fraction of people more sick, and maybe a higher fatality rate.

Also reports of hemorrhagic 'flu, which is bad, if true.

CIDRAP story:
"The high level of illnesses activity and severe cases, combined with reports of hemorrhagic pneumonia cases, have raised some speculation that the virus might be behaving differently in the Ukraine, but further testing is just getting under way."

Niman's take at Recombinomics.
Keep an eye on Recombinomics for updates on hemorrhagic fever incidence, if that spreads as a mode of 'flu this strain could still turn nasty.

Official WHO story
"According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the country has now recorded more than 250 000 cases of influenza-like illness, with 235 patients requiring intensive care. As of 2 November, 70 deaths from acute respiratory illness have been reported.

Regions in western Ukraine continue to show the highest rates of acute respiratory illness/influenza-like illness. The level of activity in the Kyiv area is also increasing rapidly.

Laboratory testing in Ukraine has confirmed pandemic H1N1 influenza virus in samples taken from patients in two of the most affected regions. As the pandemic virus has rapidly become the dominant influenza strain worldwide, it can be assumed that most cases of influenza in Ukraine are caused by the H1N1 virus...

At the request of the government, a multi-disciplinary team of nine experts has been deployed by WHO and arrived in Kyiv yesterday evening. ...

Team members will now begin field investigations to characterize the clinical and epidemiological features of the outbreak. Work will initially begin in Lviv region, where reported numbers of cases showing severe manifestations of acute respiratory illness have been especially high. ...

Samples sent by the Ministry of Health were received today by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, Mill Hill in London, UK. The laboratory will conduct confirmatory tests and further characterize the virus.

Many questions remain to be answered. The outbreak in Ukraine may be indicative of how the virus can behave in the northern hemisphere during the winter season, particularly in health care settings typically found in Eastern Europe."