Dirty TackleYou might get measles if you go to Euro 2012
On top of outrageously priced hotel rooms and the prospect of seeing dogs burned alive in the streets, those attending Euro 2012 will also have the added fun of potentially catching an infectious virus. The European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control reported 5,000 cases of measles in the Ukraine during the last month, and officials are urging football fans to get their vaccinations up to date before they arrive at the tournament which begins in 50 days time. Yahoo! UK reports:
"If you plan to come to Ukraine, please get vaccinated at home," Oleksandr Kravchuk, deputy head of the state sanitary and epidemiological service, told the Kiev Post. "The situation with measles is unfavourable in our country."
If you're traveling to the tournament and need to schedule some vaccinations, be sure to put a considerable wedge of cash aside for the aforementioned overpriced hotels too. It's been reported that a one-star hotel in Donetsk is asking for $1,600 for a room on the evening of the England vs. France game, which is around $1,595 more than you should pay for a one-star in that part of Europe.
UEFA prez Michel Platini has labelled the hoteliers as "bandits and swindlers," but Ukrainian infrastructure minister Borys Kolesnikov (awesome surname) believes the inflated prices will "stabilize by the end of April." Quite what he thinks will make the hotels charge lower prices as demand increases is unclear, but here's to wishful thinking.
