Head of the general virology laboratory at the Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, head of the Ukrainian Center for Influenza and ARD Arkadiy Frolov claims that the world stands on the threshold of a pandemic of mixed influenza based on human and avian viruses. He expressed this assumption in an interview with the newspaper "Den". \n \n"Today avian influenza has not yet fully adapted to humans. But the process of its adaptation is being completed - there are already 15 variants of the avian influenza virus. In total, 112 cases of human illness with the classic form of avian influenza have been recorded to date, of which 57 cases had a fatal outcome," said Frolov. \n \nThe specialist recalled that the influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 claimed the lives of 20-40 million people (the so-called "Spanish flu" - ed.). "Pandemics have a cyclical nature. It is well known that they recur every 25-30 years. And since the last pandemic in 1968, 37 years have already passed," noted Frolov. \n \nHe emphasized that under such conditions, preventive influenza vaccinations acquire particular importance. "If we are vaccinated against the human influenza virus, the immune bodies produced are capable to a greater extent of protecting us from avian influenza as well, and also of reducing the percentage of fatal cases," the specialist is convinced. \n \nAccording to him, the Ukrainian anti-epidemic service focuses on cases of extreme situations. "There is a plan for deploying hospitals and engaging medical personnel, in particular senior-year students of medical educational institutions. The issue of vaccine supply is constantly under control. But it is impossible to vaccinate everyone - manufacturers cannot produce such a quantity of vaccines. And we also lack the funds to purchase them," said Frolov. He reported that only orphan children, disabled persons, elderly people in residential care homes, and patients with chronic diseases have the right to free vaccination. \n \nAs reported, the State Department of Veterinary Medicine of Ukraine has strengthened control at the borders due to the threat of an avian influenza epidemic because of suspicion of its epidemic in Turkey and Romania. On October 10, Ukraine banned the import of poultry and products of its processing from the territory of Turkey and Romania, where outbreaks of avian influenza have been recorded. \n \nOn the territory of Ukraine, avian influenza was recorded in 1963-1964 in Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. After the measures taken, this disease was not recorded for 40 years, and today, according to monitoring results, there has not been a single case of detection of the highly pathogenic influenza virus.