Every year after the winter holidays end, schools are forced to announce quarantine. Which link in the chain of flu epidemic prevention is failing? Is it even possible to identify it? If so, who determines whether there will or won't be an epidemic?

Journalists discussed these and other questions at a meeting of the Lutsk Press Club of Reforms with the deputy chief state sanitary doctor of the region, Mykola Yatsyna, the deputy chief doctor of the sanitary-epidemiological station of Volyn region, Larysa Dudkovska, the head of the adult infectious patients department of the Volyn Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital, Ruslan Morochkovskyi, and the regional freelance pediatric infectiologist, Stanislava Sorochynska.

"Today the flu situation in the region, as in Ukraine as a whole, is not epidemiological," noted Mykola Yatsyna. According to the latest data, there are 2,860 patients with acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) in Volyn, of whom only 9 have flu. A total of 60 people have been hospitalized.

However, despite the small number of flu patients, there is a trend toward its growth. And there is still something to fear. Recently Mykola Yatsyna returned from an International meeting dedicated to the problems of the emergence of a flu pandemic. As experts from leading countries of the world acknowledged, the danger lies in the fact that there is a problem of "bird" flu. "If we survived the autumn migration season, then the spring one still awaits us," noted Mykola Danylovych. According to him, the danger exists for Zakarpattia, the western regions and all the way to the Dnipro.

According to Mykola Yatsyna, the peak of the disease will fall at the end of February – beginning of March. So, while there is still time, it is extremely important to take preventive measures in time. Today the most effective method remains vaccination. However, given the considerable cost of the vaccine (from 40 hryvnias), this method is far from accessible to all citizens. In Volyn, 1,570 people have used it, a significant portion of whom – at the expense of the state or employers. All the remaining citizens must take care of strengthening their immune system by hardening, observing sleep and nutrition regimens, consuming natural products with a high vitamin content, and creating a normal emotional atmosphere. In addition, experts recommend dressing warmly (despite modern youth fashion) and not forgetting to apply oxolinic ointment to the respiratory tract before leaving home, which prevents the virus from entering the body.

If you do nevertheless "catch" the virus (and flu is characterized by sudden general weakness, muscle pain, headache, high temperature), it is best to consult a doctor, since self-treatment can lead to irreparable consequences.

For information:

Classes in schools are permitted at an internal temperature (room temperature) of not lower than 15ºC. At a wind speed of 5 m/s, air humidity of 80% and a temperature of -20ºC, classes for junior grades are prohibited.

At an air temperature of -4ºC, a child must be dressed in four layers of clothing; at a temperature of -5 to -9ºC – in five layers. Clothing must necessarily contain at least 60% natural fibers, preferably 100%.