資料來源：路透社，格林威治標準時間 2022 年 3 月 1；財團法人台灣紅絲帶基金會編譯 

烏克蘭的關鍵醫療用品短缺，世界衛生組織週日警告稱氧氣供應即將耗盡。

倫敦，3 月 1 日（路透社）——公共衛生專家說，自俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭以來，烏克蘭的關鍵醫療用品供應不足，不得不停止遏止脊髓灰白質炎疫情的緊急努力。

醫療需求已經很迫切，世界衛生組織週日警告說氧氣供應即將耗盡。

隨著人們逃離家園、醫療服務中斷以及物資無法運抵烏克蘭，人們越來越擔心更廣泛的公共衛生危機，而烏克蘭也受到了 COVID-19 大流行的打擊。

世衛組織發言人塔里.賈薩雷維奇週一表示，由於戰鬥，烏克蘭的小兒麻痺症常規免疫和疫情控制工作已暫停。他說，世衛組織收到報告稱，該國許多地區也暫停了冠狀病毒疫苗接種運動。

去年 10 月，烏克蘭發現了歐洲五年來首例脊髓灰質炎病例——一名 17 個月大的幼兒癱瘓——另外一例涉及癱瘓的病例於 1 月被發現。

另有 19 名兒童被確認患有疫苗衍生形式的脊髓灰質炎，但沒有癱瘓症狀。

2 月 1 日開始了一項全國性的脊髓灰質炎免疫運動，以覆蓋烏克蘭仍未得到保護的 10 萬名兒童，但自戰鬥開始以及衛生當局轉向緊急醫療照護後，該運動已停止。

世衛組織表示，一些地區的電力短缺影響了疫苗庫存的安全，監測工作中斷。

「世衛組織正在努力緊急制定應急計劃，以支持烏克蘭並防止由衝突引起的脊髓灰質炎進一步傳播」，賈薩雷維奇說。

俄羅斯稱其在烏克蘭的行動是「特別行動」，旨在摧毀其鄰國的軍事能力，並俘虜其認為危險的民族主義者。它否認針對平民。

關注HIV感染者

聯合國愛滋病毒/愛滋病機構表示，烏克蘭境內僅有值不到一個月的愛滋感染者的治療藥物。

聯合國愛滋病規劃署執行主任 Winnie Byanyima 說：「烏克蘭的愛滋感染者只剩下幾週的治療抗反轉錄病毒藥物，如果沒有持續的治療，他們的生命就處於危險之中」。

在俄羅斯上週開始入侵之前，烏克蘭有 250,000 名愛滋感染者，在歐洲排名第二，僅次於俄羅斯。

它的結核病發病率也很高，名列於世界上耐多藥結核病發病率最高的國家之一。烏克蘭每年估計有 30,000 例新的結核病病例。

烏克蘭政府和國際倡議的遏制結核病夥伴關係週一表示，該國所有結核病診所仍在營業，但已向患者提供為期一個月的藥物供應，以防情況惡化或去診所很危險時使用。

遏制結核病國際倡議組織說，到 2022 年底，現有和預計的新患者可以獲得足夠的治療，儘管如此該組織正在與世衛組織合作，為鄰國制定潛在的緊急定晏。

專家說，治療或診斷中斷可能會擴大傳播範圍，並危及患者的生命。

「很明顯，我們預計會有更多的結核病病例」，遏制結核病合作組織的代表 Viorel Soltan 說，他預測這將對烏克蘭更廣泛的衛生系統產生影響。

COVID-19 仍然是一個問題，只有超過三分之一的人完全接種了該疾病病毒的疫苗。每日新增病例在 2 月份達到約 40,000 例的峰值，但在俄羅斯入侵後報告停止之前一直在下降。

人道主義救援組織 Project HOPE 週一表示，所有受到襲擊城市的藥房都報告說醫療用品已用完。

（Timothy Heritage編輯報導） 

Fears of HIV medicine shortages and disease in Ukraine after Russian invasion

by Reuters  Tuesday, 1 March 2022 06:07 GMT

Ukraine is running low on critical medical supplies, with the World Health Organization warning on Sunday that oxygen supplies were running out.

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) – Ukraine is running low on critical medical supplies and has had to halt urgent efforts to curb a polio outbreak since Russia invaded the country, public health experts say.

Medical needs are already acute, with the World Health Organization warning on Sunday that oxygen supplies were running out.

Fears of a wider public health crisis are growing as people flee their homes, health services are interrupted and supplies fail to reach Ukraine, which has also been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said on Monday routine immunisation and outbreak control efforts for polio had been suspended in Ukraine because of the fighting. WHO has received reports that coronavirus vaccination campaigns have also been put on hold in many parts of the country, he said.

Last October, Ukraine found the first polio case in Europe for five years – a 17-month old toddler who was paralysed – and another case involving paralysis was found in January.

Nineteen more children have been identified with the vaccine-derived form of polio but without symptoms of paralysis.

A nationwide polio immunisation campaign to reach the 100,000 children still unprotected in Ukraine began on Feb. 1, but has been halted since fighting began and as health authorities shift to emergency care.

The WHO said electricity shortages in some areas had affected the safety of vaccine stock, and surveillance had been disrupted.

“WHO is working to urgently develop contingency plans to support Ukraine and prevent further spread of polio caused by the conflict,” said Jasarevic.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to destroy its neighbour’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists. It denies targeting civilians.

CONCERN FOR HIV PATIENTS

The U.N. agency for HIV/AIDS has said there is less than a month’s worth of drugs for HIV patients left in Ukraine.

“People living with HIV in Ukraine only have a few weeks of antiretroviral therapy remaining with them, and without continuous access their lives are at risk,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.

Before Russia’s invasion began last week, Ukraine had 250,000 people living with HIV, the second-largest number in Europe after Russia.

It also had high rates of tuberculosis, including one of the highest rates of multi-drug resistant TB in the world. There are an estimated 30,000 new TB cases annually in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s government and the Stop TB Partnership, an international initiative, said on Monday all TB clinics in the country were still open, but patients had been given a month-long supply of drugs to take away with them in case the situation worsened or it was dangerous to travel to clinic.

Enough treatments are available for existing and projected new patients until the end of 2022, Stop TB said, although the organisation is working with the WHO on potential emergency orders for neighbouring countries.

Interruptions in treatment or diagnosis can drive up wider transmission as well as risk patients’ lives, experts say.

“It’s clear we expect many more TB cases,” said Viorel Soltan, a Stop TB Partnership representative, predicting an impact on the wider health system in Ukraine.

COVID-19 is also still a concern, with only just over one in three people fully vaccinated against the virus disease. Daily new cases hit a peak of around 40,000 in February but were declining before reporting stopped after Russia’s invasion.

Humanitarian relief organisation Project HOPE said on Monday pharmacies in all cities under attack were reporting running out of medical supplies.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage)