Over 3.2 million people with flu and acute respiratory illnesses have been registered in Ukraine since the beginning of the epidemiological season (between September 28, 2015 and February 2, 2016) and 192 deaths have been registered, the Health Ministry press service reported on Thursday.

"According to operative information, over 3.2 million people with flu and acute respiratory illnesses have been registered since the beginning of the epidemiological season (28.09.2015 - 02.02.2016) in Ukraine, 8.3% of the population have been ill [...] According to operative information, 192 deaths from flu, which have been confirmed by lab tests, have been registered since the beginning of the epidemiological season, including three children under the age of 17 and one death of a pregnant woman. The atypical type A flu virus has been identified in 22 people, the Type B virus has been identified in two people and the Type H1N1 (pdm09) flu virus has been identified in 152 people," the Health Ministry reported.

The most lethal cases have been registered in the Odesa region (34), Vinnytsia and Cherkasy regions (13 each), the Zaporizhia region (12), Rivne region and Kyiv (11 each).

In the fourth week of 2016, the flu rate exceeded the epidemiological thresholds in 19 regions and Kyiv, and in 11 of them they were exceeded by more than 50%.

The flu rate in the 2015-2016 epidemiological season is 41.4% higher than the similar level of the past epidemiological season. The Health Ministry also said only one-third of the people who died had sought timely medical assistance. A study of the deaths showed that none of the victims had had flu shots.