Baby vaccine contaminated with pig virus - health - 12 May 2010 - New Scientist

Baby vaccine contaminated with pig virus

SWINE viruses are back - but this time they don't seem to be making anyone sick.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported that stocks of Merck's Rotateq vaccine against rotavirus are contaminated with the pig viruses PCV1 and PCV2, but the agency has not advised doctors to stop using it as the pig viruses aren't known to cause disease in humans, and rotavirus kills roughly half a million infants worldwide each year. An FDA advisory panel said the vaccine's benefits still outweigh its risks.

The FDA plans to monitor recipients for pig virus-related illness. "There will be quite careful monitoring of the people that have received the vaccine and I think that's entirely appropriate," says virologist Stephen Hughes, who advised the FDA on the issue.

Rotavirus vaccines are mainly given to infants in the developing world, where the virus is most likely to kill. In March, a separate rotavirus vaccine, Rotarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline was found to contain PCV1. In that case, the FDA recommended that doctors avoid using Rotarix while it gathers evidence, but the FDA now says it will issue new recommendations on both affected vaccines soon.

H1N1: Thailand Reports First Human-to-Pigs Transmission of Swine Flu

Thailand confirmed Thursday its first case of a pig infected with swine flu spread from humans, senior officials said.

Agriculture minister Thira Wongsamut said that one of 80 pigs in a sample group tested for the virus at Kasertsart University farm in the central province of Sara Buri had contracted A(H1N1) influenza.

"It was only in one sample that we found the A(H1N1)," Thira said.

The ministry has quarantined a five kilometre-radius around the farm, where university research is carried out, as a precautionary measure, he said, adding that new helth checks would be conducted at the farm every three days.

The ministry's permanent secretary Yukol Limlamthong said that none of the 132 workers at the university farm had contracted swine flu. He could not confirm if a research student had brought the virus in.

"We can not prove that, but the test results show the pigs contracted the virus from a human," Yukol said.

Thira said that eating pork did not pose a danger.

"The virus spread from human to pigs, as in several countries. We've had no case of it spreading from pigs to humans," he said.

Since the swine flu outbreak began in April, the ministry said it has tested more than 26,000 pigs for the virus.

It has confirmed 29,741 human cases of the flu and 190 of those were fatal.

The Thai government has a one-million dollar fund set aside to combat swine flu.

Natural human protein could prevent H1N1: study

Natural human protein could prevent H1N1: study

A strain of natural human proteins have been found to help ward off swine flu and other viruses including West Nile and dengue, in a discovery that could spur more effective treatments, US researchers said Thursday.

In cultured human cells, researchers lead by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) found that these certain proteins have powerful antiviral effects by blocking the replication of viruses.

The findings, reported Thursday in an online article from the journal Cell, "could lead to the development of more effective antiviral drugs, including prophylactic drugs that could be used to slow influenza transmission," the team said.

The influenza virus, along with the other viruses, must take over proteins in cells to sustain itself. In their study, researchers found some 120 genes that are needed by H1N1 -- commonly known as swine flu.

"But in the process of figuring that out, we found this other class of genes that actually have the opposite effect, so that if you get rid of them, influenza replicates much better," according to HHMI team leader Stephen Elledge at the Harvard Medical School.

H1N1: North Korea finally confirms pandemic swine flu outbreak

Finally, North Korea announced for the first time that it has several cases of swine flu, confirming overseas reports of an outbreak in the secretive and impoverished communist state.

The health ministry has reported a total of nine cases of (A)H1N1 in the capital Pyongyang and the city of Sinuiju on the Chinese border, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Authorities put a quarantine system in place and centres have been set up nationwide to check for new cases, it said.

The World Health Organisation is working with Pyongyang to help stem the outbreak and assess the scope of infections, WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi told South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

"We are working closely with the government to see what is required and if they need any assistance from WHO," she said.

Yonhap quoted Bhatiasevi as saying there are likely to be more cases of the virus than announced, as people who have mild symptoms are not tested.

The South's unification ministry said it would send a message to the North offering swift deliveries of Tamiflu and other medicine.

"Assistance must be provided swiftly as the disease could quickly spread in North Korea where conditions are not so good," President Lee Myung-Bak said.

Most government-to-government aid was suspended after cross-border relations worsened last year, although private South Korean groups still send shipments northwards.

Observers say the virus could pose a particular threat to the impoverished North because of malnutrition amid persistent food shortages and a lack of drugs.

Good Friends, a Seoul-based aid group with cross-border contacts, reported Monday the disease has been spreading rapidly because Tamiflu is rare there. Although, given the reported ineffectiveness of Tamiflu, it will be interesting to monitor how quickly the virus spreads.

It said seven youths died in Pyongyang in November while two others reportedly died in Pyongsong north of the capital.

Schools last Friday started their winter vacation a month early to guard against the spread of the disease, the group said.

Public health conditions are also dire with medical equipment and medicine in short supply and clean drinking water and sanitised items frequently problematic, it said.

Drugs for Leaders only
The conservative Dong-A Ilbo newspaper quoted unidentified sources as saying that North Korea has secured Tamiflu and other drugs through foreign missions in Europe but only for leader Kim Jong-Il and other top officials.

North Korea refused Tamiflu
In May, the WHO supplied a total of 2.4 million courses of Tamiflu to 72 countries, but Seoul officials said the North's likely share of this would be grossly inadequate.

"Considering the North's population is 24 million, and the infection rate going up to 20 to 30 percent in underdeveloped countries, the North would need the drug by the millions," said Kwon Jun-Wook, a swine flu specialist at the South Korean health ministry.

North Korea has a high death rate from pneumonia, which rises when there is a food shortage.

Kwon told Yonhap the (A)H1N1 virus has an even higher infection rate than pneumonia and would be more dangerous to the North Korean people.

H1N1: Swine Flu Mutations endangers Europe: WHO issues ineffective rhetoric

Swine flu virus mutations are spreading in Europe, French health officials said Friday as the World Health Organisation reported a leap in deaths from the disease by more than 1,000 in a week.

Two patients who were infected by a mutation that was also recently detected in Norway have died in France, the government's Health Surveillance Institute (InVS) said in a statement.

"This mutation could increase the ability of the virus to affect the respiratory tracts and, in particular, the lung tissue," said a statement from "For one of these patients, this mutation was accompanied by another mutation known to confer resistance to oseltamivir," it added, referring to the main drug being used to treat swine flu, under the brand name Tamiflu.

The case was the first drug-resistant strain found in France among the 1,200 strains experts have analysed here, the InVS said, adding that "the effectiveness of vaccines currently available is not being questioned."

The two patients were not related and had been hospitalised in two different cities in France, it said.

The WHO said Friday the death toll had reached at least 7,826 worldwide since the A(H1N1) flu virus was first uncovered in April.

The number of deaths reported to the UN health agency showed the biggest rise in the Americas, where 5,360 deaths have now been recorded compared to 4,806 a week ago.

But Europe also posted a substantial increase percentage-wise with at least 650 fatalities now reported, representing a surge of 300 deaths or 85 percent from data posted a week ago.

The WHO said Thursday it was investigating reports of mutations in the virus, after half a dozen countries recorded such cases.

"The question is whether these mutations again suggest that there is a fundamental change going on in viruses out there -- whether there's a turn for the worse in terms of severity," said Keiji Fukuda, WHO's special adviser on pandemic influenza.

"The answer right now is that we are not sure," he added following reports from China, Japan, Norway, Ukraine and the United States.

He noted, however, that mutations are common in influenza viruses, and "if every mutation is reported out there it would be like reporting changes in the weather."

"What we're trying to do when we see reports of mutations is to identify if these mutations are leading to any kinds of changes in the clinical picture -- do they cause more severe or less severe disease?

"Also we're trying to see if these viruses are increasing out there as that would suggest a change in epidemiology," he added.

China said earlier Thursday that it had discovered eight people with mutated versions of swine flu while Norway reported last week that it had detected one case.

Fukuda also said that the UN health agency was looking into Tamiflu-resistant cases reported in Britain and the United States but noted they concerned people who are already undergoing treatment for other diseases or who have underlying health issues.

The health agency was therefore maintaining its assessment that Tamiflu, produced by Swiss drugmaker Roche, remained "effective" as a treatment for swine flu, but that "we do have to be vigilant in these very susceptible people."

H1N1: Dogs diagnosed with swine flu in China

Beijing (AFP) Nov 29, 2009 - Two dogs in Beijing have tested positive for swine flu in the second case of animals catching the disease in China along with pigs in the northeast, Chinese media said Sunday. The A(H1N1) virus detected in the dogs was 99 percent identical to the one circulating in humans, the state-run Beijing Times reported, quoting China's agriculture ministry.

The news comes 10 days after four pigs in China's Heilongjiang province were diagnosed with the virus, which specialists said might have been caught from humans, the report said. Countries including the United States, Canada and Chile have already reported cases of animals being infected with the A(H1N1) virus.

A cat in the US state of Iowa was diagnosed with swine flu at the beginning of the month in the first known case in the world of the new pandemic strain spreading to the feline population. The World Health Organisation has called for closer monitoring of farm workers and animals for influenza A viruses following the reported cases.

Citing an official at the Beijing municipal agriculture bureau, the report said the dogs probably contracted the virus from human sufferers who were in close contact with the canines. "Dogs can infect nearby dogs after they catch A(H1N1) flu," the unidentified official was quoted as saying. The agriculture ministry and the Beijing agriculture bureau were not immediately available for comment.

H1N1: Britain probes transmission of drug-resistant swine flu

British health authorities said Friday they are investigating what could be the world's first cases of person-to-person transmission of a strain of drug-resistant swine flu. Five people in a hospital unit in Wales have a strain of the A(H1N1) virus that is resistant to Tamiflu and "three of these appear to have acquired the infection in hospital", the public health service in Wales said.

"Although further epidemiological investigation is under way, it would seem likely that transmission of oseltamivir-resistant H1N1 virus has taken place," added the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in a separate statement.

This was a possible world first. The HPA noted that while almost 60 incidences of Tamiflu-resistant flu had been reported worldwide, "there have been no documented episodes of person-to-person transmission." It said the risk of drug-resistant flu remained "low" noting the five patients affected had severe underlying health conditions and were being treated at a special unit at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

The emergence of influenza A viruses that are resistant to Tamiflu is not unexpected in patients with serious underlying conditions and suppressed immune systems. The resistant strain "does not appear to be any more severe than the swine flu virus that has been circulating since April", and Tamiflu, made by Swiss drugs giant Roche, remained partly effective for most other people.

Scientific research confirms that Tamiflu and Relenza were never the 'cure all' drug that they were marketed as being.

The HPA said that another leading antiviral drug, Relenza, was being used to treat the five Welsh patients and they were "responding well". Two patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital, one remained in critical care and two others continue to be treated, officials said.

Britain is the European country most affected by swine flu, with about 715,000 cases of the virus and 100 deaths since the pandemic began.

The latest data from the World Health Organisation showed that around 6,750 people worldwide had died from swine flu since the virus was first uncovered in Mexico and the United States in April.

H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine: Production Problems

The World Health Organisation says global production of vaccines for pandemic flu will be "substantially less" than the previous maximum forecast of 94 million doses a week.

WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl says the number of doses produced in a year will fall short of the 4.9 billion doses the global health body previously hoped could be available.

Hartl says production will be lower because some manufacturers are still turning out vaccines for seasonal flu.

He told reporters in Geneva on Friday that production problems have also reduced the weekly output of pandemic vaccine.

WHO says that in theory all the world's 6.3 billion people should receive at least one dose of vaccine against the pandemic strain of H1N1, also known as swine flu.

H1N1 Swine Flu: A Serving UK Soldier dies after contracting the virus

A serving UK soldier has been revealed as the latest patient to die after contracting H1N1, swine flu virus.
Bombardier Lee Porter, from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, died last week, two weeks after contracting the bug - it is reported that he had underlying health problems.

The 30-year-old member of the Royal Artillery is thought to be the first UK serviceman to have fallen victim to the bug.

According to the announcement, Bombardier Porter died on Friday at Frimley Park hospital in Surrey, making him the 28th person known to have died after getting swine flu in England.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "It is with great sadness that the MoD must confirm the death of Bombardier Lee Porter, who contracted Swine Flu two weeks ago, which complicated existing health problems. Our thoughts go out to his family, who were at his bedside at the time."

110,000 New Cases
The latest figures on swine flu show that cases of the virus "may have plateaued", according to the Government. Their data, released today, showed that there were 110,000 new cases in England last week.

That represents a 10 per cent rise on the 100,000 new cases estimated in the previous weeks. Twenty seven people in England have died from swine flu, while 793 patients are being treated in hospital, that figure is down on the 840 of last week.

UK Schoolgirl on Life-Support
A British schoolgirl being treated in Greece for swine flu is on a life support machine but is showing signs of improvement and is said to be 'a little better.'

Natasha Newman, 16, from Highgate, north London, is in an Athens hospital after falling ill on the island of Cephalonia. Doctors at the intensive care unit of Penteli Children's Hospital described her condition as 'serious but stable.'

Pneumonia
One doctor, who did not wish to be named, said: "She has better lung function than yesterday and the day before. She has pneumonia, which is not something easy, but she has no lasting damage to her lungs and she is not in a dangerous condition."

Young Children suffer Tamiflu side-effects

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More than half of children taking Tamiflu suffer side-effects such as nausea, insomnia and nightmares, researchers have said.

Two studies from experts at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed a "high proportion" of British schoolchildren reporting problems after taking the anti-viral drug.

Data was gathered from children at three schools in London and one in the South West who were given Tamiflu earlier this year after classmates became infected.

The researchers behind one study said that, although children may have attributed symptoms that were due to other illnesses to the use of Tamiflu, "this is unlikely to account for all the symptoms experienced".

Their research, published in Eurosurveillance, looked at side-effects reported by 11 and 12-year-old pupils in one school year in a secondary school in South West England. The school was closed for 10 days in response to a pupil being confirmed with swine flu on return from a holiday in Cancun, Mexico.

A total of 248 pupils took part in the study and were given Tamiflu prophylactically. Compliance with prophylaxis was high, with 77% of children taking the full course, the researchers said. But they added: "Fifty-one per cent experienced symptoms such as feeling sick (31.2%), headaches (24.3%) and stomach ache (21.1%).

The researchers said "likely side-effects were common" and the "burden of side-effects needs to be considered" when deciding on giving Tamiflu to children prophylactically. The researchers concluded that a "high proportion of school children may experience side-effects of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) medication".

H1N1: Vaccine Production Delayed

Flu viruses contain eight genetic elements. Vaccine strains contain two genes for the main surface proteins of the virus the vaccine is aimed at, plus six from a strain that grows well in chicken eggs, which is where most flu vaccines are produced.

These vaccine strains are produced either by reverse genetics, in which the eight genetic elements are artificially combined using genetic technology; or by allowing the two viruses to mix naturally. WHO collaborating labs used both methods to produce seed strains for the pandemic virus to make sure there were no unforeseen problems with one or the other.

Yet both methods have performed equally badly, each producing one of the two fastest-growing strains. The other strains are presumably growing even more slowly.

Vaccine companies are trying to tweak the vaccine strains to select faster growing ones, while WHO collaborating laboratories are feverishly generating new strains, which they hope will grow faster.

H1N1 Vaccine Production delayed: Poor most at risk

The WHO says countries such as China and India expect to produce their own vaccine supplies, but smaller low- and middle-income countries representing 2.7 billion people have "no current access to H1N1 vaccine".

The report was presented to a closed, extraordinary meeting last week of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE), a panel of independent scientists who advise the WHO on vaccine issues.

Wenqing Zhang of the WHO's flu programme told SAGE that five different "seed" viruses have been produced and evaluated (pdf format). But the two highest yielding strains are growing only half as fast as the seasonal H1N1 viruses used to make vaccine for ordinary flu.

H1N1 Slow growing flu vaccine; Critically Delayed Production

Vaccine producers have hit a snag making vaccine against the swine flu pandemic. According to a report by the World Health Organisation, the fastest-growing of all the vaccine strains tested so far grows only half as fast as ordinary vaccine viruses.

Vaccine companies must fill pandemic vaccine contracts with countries such as Britain, Australia, France and the US before they can start making vaccine for the rest of the world – notably developing countries. Marie-Paul Kieny, the WHO's head of vaccines, told a meeting in Geneva last week (pdf format) that if the pandemic vaccine virus grew as fast as ordinary strains, these contracts could be filled by November 2009.

That date applies only if the vaccine works at half the dose of ordinary vaccines, with one shot enough to induce the required immune reaction. If the usual dose and two shots are needed, the contracts cannot be filled until April 2010.

But the slow-growing virus means these dates could be pushed back to January 2010 and June 2010 respectively. If the current pandemic behaves like the last H1N1 pandemic in 1918, the next, possibly worse waves of infection could be long over by then.

H1N! Swine Flu Devastating South America

A passenger takes precautions at Ezeiza International Airport, Argentina, as the swine flu pandemic intensifies (Image: Daniel Garcia / AFP / Getty Images)

THE swine flu pandemic is intensifying in South America and finding little resistance. The US White House will meet with state representatives on 9 July to discuss preparations for the autumn flu season in the US. The UK has shifted its response from protection, to dealing with the impact of widespread infection in the UK.

Meanwhile, in South America, in the midst of its winter flu season, swine H1N1 virus seems to be replacing the seasonal flu viruses that circulated till now, a classic pandemic behaviour. This raises further concerns that seasonal flu vaccine, which some companies are still making, may be useless when the northern hemisphere's flu season arrives later this year.

In the flu pandemics of 1918, 1957 and 1968, the pandemic virus completely replaced the circulating seasonal flu but in 1977, an accidentally released mild H1N1 virus simply circulated alongside the existing flu, H3N2. So, no one is sure how this swine flu H1N1 will behave. It is overwhelming what is not known about this influenza and its potential devastating impact on the civilised world.

If it does not replace the seasonal viruses - the milder H1N1 and the H3N2 - the world faces the prospect of being infected by all three viruses at once. This would be a very complicated and dangerous scenario: both seasonal and pandemic vaccines would be needed and differing age groups of people would be affected. Let's hope that what is happening in South America, is not indicative of this influenza's emerging profile.

In North America, swine flu also dominates: as expected, more than 98 per cent of flu cases genotyped in the US in late June were caused by the pandemic virus. While seasonal flu viruses normally die out in the summer, the pandemic virus has the advantage that few people have any immunity to it.

WHO: Latest Satement on H1N1 Swine Flu Level 6

Dr Margaret Chan
Director-General of the World Health Organization

Ladies and gentlemen,

In late April, WHO announced the emergence of a novel (to us) influenza A virus.

This particular H1N1 strain has not circulated previously in humans (recently). The virus is entirely new (to us).

The virus is contagious, spreading easily from one person to another, and from one country to another. As of today, nearly 30,000 confirmed cases have been reported in 74 countries. (You do the maths?)

This is only part of the picture. With few exceptions, countries with large numbers of cases are those with good surveillance and testing procedures in place. (If you don't look for trouble you will not find it but it will find you, eventually)

Spread in several countries can no longer be traced to clearly-defined chains of human-to-human transmission. Further spread is considered inevitable. (We haven't a clue what's happening)

I have conferred with leading influenza experts, virologists, and public health officials. In line with procedures set out in the International Health Regulations, I have sought guidance and advice from an Emergency Committee established for this purpose. (We are lost for ideas and further confused by the geeks)

On the basis of available evidence, and these expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. (WE are covering our ass)

I have therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6. (Reluctantly, after strong demands from the global community)

The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic.

We are in the earliest days of the pandemic. The virus is spreading under a close and careful watch. (We are but spectators watching it go on)

No previous pandemic has been detected so early or watched so closely, in real-time, right at the very beginning. The world can now reap the benefits of investments, over the last five years, in pandemic preparedness. (We know where to hide, how quick to run and have many ass covering methods)

We have a head start. This places us in a strong position. But it also creates a demand for advice and reassurance in the midst of limited data and considerable scientific uncertainty. (We are in headless chicken mode)

Thanks to close monitoring, thorough investigations, and frank reporting from countries, we have some early snapshots depicting spread of the virus and the range of illness it can cause. (Everyone is sending us scarey pictures)

We know, too, that this early, patchy picture can change very quickly. The virus writes the rules and this one, like all influenza viruses, can change the rules, without rhyme or reason, at any time. (We haven't a clue what to do now that heavy handed bureaucracy doesn't work)

Globally, we have good reason to believe that this pandemic, at least in its early days, will be of moderate severity. As we know from experience, severity can vary, depending on many factors, from one country to another. (We hope its not too bad for a bit but don't quite believe it will stay that way)

On present evidence, the overwhelming majority of patients experience mild symptoms and make a rapid and full recovery, often in the absence of any form of medical treatment. (See its not a problem really, if you ignore the poor and the dying)

Worldwide, the number of deaths is small. Each and every one of these deaths is tragic, and we have to brace ourselves to see more. However, we do not expect to see a sudden and dramatic jump in the number of severe or fatal infections. (Fingers crossed it doesn't affect any of us)

We know that the novel H1N1 virus preferentially infects younger people. In nearly all areas with large and sustained outbreaks, the majority of cases have occurred in people under the age of 25 years. (So that's ok then for us oldies)

In some of these countries, around 2% of cases have developed severe illness, often with very rapid progression to life-threatening pneumonia. (As opposed to the less deadly pneumonias)

Most cases of severe and fatal infections have been in adults between the ages of 30 and 50 years. (Again with the young people remark and the 'greys' shall inherit the earth, is it? Our time has come around again? Don't think so)

This pattern is significantly different from that seen during epidemics of seasonal influenza, when most deaths occur in frail elderly people. (Its natures way)

Many, though not all, severe cases have occurred in people with underlying chronic conditions. Based on limited, preliminary data, conditions most frequently seen include respiratory diseases, notably asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and obesity. (This we understand!)

At the same time, it is important to note that around one third to half of the severe and fatal infections are occurring in previously healthy young and middle-aged people. (Now you're just getting annoying, broken record )

Without question, pregnant women are at increased risk of complications. This heightened risk takes on added importance for a virus, like this one, that preferentially infects younger age groups. (Are you going to list all the young groups and sectors, I hope not)

Finally, and perhaps of greatest concern, we do not know how this virus will behave under conditions typically found in the developing world. To date, the vast majority of cases have been detected and investigated in comparatively well-off countries. (Can it be spread through designer label changing rooms, Starbuck lattes, BMW steering wheels and IKEA's catalogue?)

Let me underscore two of many reasons for this concern. First, more than 99% of maternal deaths, which are a marker of poor quality care during pregnancy and childbirth, occurs in the developing world. (Cause we count them and gieve over them. We don't just bury them and move on because its a fact of life in poverty)

Second, around 85% of the burden of chronic diseases is concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. (God bless the old and rich, for they shall survive again)

Although the pandemic appears to have moderate severity in comparatively well-off countries, it is prudent to anticipate a bleaker picture as the virus spreads to areas with limited resources, poor health care, and a high prevalence of underlying medical problems. (God bless the poor, it is their destiny to suffer)

Ladies and gentlemen, (You're not winning any friends here)

A characteristic feature of pandemics is their rapid spread to all parts of the world. In the previous century, this spread has typically taken around 6 to 9 months, even during times when most international travel was by ship or rail. (It goes where people go)

Countries should prepare to see cases, or the further spread of cases, in the near future. Countries where outbreaks appear to have peaked should prepare for a second wave of infection. (We've only just begun to fight. It will not be over by Xmas)

Guidance on specific protective and precautionary measures has been sent to ministries of health in all countries. Countries with no or only a few cases should remain vigilant. (If you ain't got it yet, just wait, it's coming your way)

Countries with widespread transmission should focus on the appropriate management of patients. The testing and investigation of patients should be limited, as such measures are resource intensive and can very quickly strain capacities. (You know what you have and you can't cure it, so attend to the sick and dying as best you can)

WHO has been in close dialogue with influenza vaccine manufacturers. I understand that production of vaccines for seasonal influenza will be completed soon, and that full capacity will be available to ensure the largest possible supply of pandemic vaccine in the months to come. (Pharma companies are happy to flood the market with as much useless vaccine as you are willing to pay for and by the way, because of the urgency the price has gone up enormously)

Pending the availability of vaccines, several non-pharmaceutical interventions can confer some protection. (We don't currently have any effective vaccines and wont have for months, by which time the pandemic will have burned itself out)

WHO continues to recommend no restrictions on travel and no border closures. (We cannot enforce or control it anyway)

Influenza pandemics, whether moderate or severe, are remarkable events because of the almost universal susceptibility of the world’s population to infection. (Shit happens)

We are all in this together, and we will all get through this, together. (Except the one's who die of neglect and insufficient measures being taken, allegedly)

Thank you. (Now run for your life, except the old and rich. You're gonna be just fine. Pass the good port in any storm!)

H1N1 - Swine flu pandemic declaration

The World Health Organization has declared H1N1 swine flu an official Level 6 pandemic - in the WHO's rating scheme. This means the world's vaccine industry will be rubbing their hands with glee because they can now switch from making vaccine for ordinary flu to pandemic vaccine, where the big money is to be made.

However companies are not likely to change production until they have finished their current production run of ordinary flu vaccine in July or August. That will be the case, even though that vaccine will be useless if swine flu behaves like previous pandemics and replaces the current, ordinary flu viruses. After all, it doesn't make financial sense to hang onto surplus stock when there are eager customers out there willing to buy it, whether it's effective or not.

The WHO's declaration of level six activates a slew of government pre-orders for pandemic vaccine. These will take precedence over recent orders for H1N1 vaccine. Countries that don't have pre-orders will face delays or increased charges, following the normal commercial process of supply and demand drives price.

Mild infectious outbreak

The WHO cautioned against over-reaction, as most cases of H1N1 have so far been relatively mild. The organisation had been under pressure not to declare a pandemic for such a mild virus but the pharmaceutical companies have been lobbying hard.

Unfortunately, the WHO officials have insisted that a flu pandemic is defined by how fast a novel flu virus spreads, and who it affects, not necessarily how severe it is. This is partly because the same virus can be mild in some people and severe in others, and partly because it can evolve.

Historically, in 1918, the last pandemic H1N1 started out mild, but its second wave was much more severe. There were sound reasons for this, whereby the virus latched onto the antiodies that had been created by the first outbreak and this allowed them easy access to disabling the immune system of victims.

This virus affects young people

Pandemic flu can also kill healthy young adults, not the very young and old like ordinary flu. "Approximately half the people who have died from this H1N1 infection have been previously healthy people," Keiji Fukuda, head of flu at the WHO, said on Tuesday, adding this had given the organisation "the most concern" but again, the causes are known and predictble.

"It is of greatest importance to continue surveillance of the virus worldwide," David Heymann, the deposed head of health security at the WHO. "Science cannot predict what course this virus will take as it continues to spread in humans." maybe that's why he was removed from office.

The population deserves answers and solutions to these problems and not to be used as guinea pigs and an ever-increasing source of revenue for the exploitation of pharmaceutical companies, allegedly. Discuss!

Swine flu: The predictable pandemic

THE swine flu virus has been a serious pandemic threat for years but research into its potential has been neglected compared with other kinds of flu.

New cases are being reported far from the original outbreak in Mexico. The clusters of milder infections in the US suggest the virus is spreading readily among people. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says this strain is so different from existing human flu viruses that most people have no immunity to it. Despite the claims, there are no existing vaccines.

All this means the virus could go pandemic. Or it might not: it could be self-limiting. If the virus spreads less readily than is feared, it might not be able to maintain itself in the human population and could fizzle out.

Vaccines such as Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) and Relenza (Zanamivir), are not totally effective against viral strains

The WHO is only now taking measures to produce an effective vaccine against the new H1N1 virus. This will between four to six months to develop, test and produce in sufficient numbers.

Deadly H1N1 Swine Flu outbreak: Pandemic looms

A novel flu virus has struck hundreds of people in Mexico, and at least 18 have died. It has also infected eight people in the US, and appears able to spread readily from human to human. The World Health Organization is calling an emergency meeting to decide whether to declare the possible onset of a flu pandemic.

Ironically, after years of concern about H5N1 bird flu, the new flu causing concern is a pig virus, of a family known as H1N1.

Flu viruses are named after the two main proteins on their surfaces, abbreviated H and N. They are also differentiated by what animal they usually infect. The H in the new virus comes from pigs, but some of its other genes come from bird and human flu viruses, a mixture that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls "very unusual".

On Wednesday, the CDC announced that routine surveillance had uncovered mild flu cases during late March and April, caused by a novel swine flu virus. Those affected, aged 9 to 54, live in and around San Diego, California, and San Antonio, Texas, near the Mexican border. None was severe. Symptoms were normal for flu, with more nausea and diarrhoea than usual.

Mongrelised mix

On Thursday, Canadian public health officials warned Canadians travelling to Mexico of clusters of severe flu-like illness there. Then on Friday the WHO in Geneva said in a statement there have been around 900 suspected cases of swine flu in Mexico City and two other regions of Mexico, with around 60 suspected deaths. Of those, 18 have been confirmed as H1N1 swine flu, says the WHO, and tests so far have shown that 12 of those are "genetically identical" to the California virus.

On Friday, Richard Besser, head of the CDC, confirmed that Mexican samples tested at CDC were also "similar" to the US virus. "From everything we know to date, this virus appears to be the same," he said.

To be declared a pandemic, Besser said, the virus must be new, cause severe disease, and transmit easily enough to be sustained.

It is new. Anne Schuchat, head of science and public health at the CDC, said that the US virus is an unusually mongrelised mix of genetic sequences from North American pigs, Eurasian pigs, birds and humans. The H protein on its surface, having hitherto circulated only in pigs, is one most human immune systems have never seen, the crucial requirement for a pandemic flu.

Too late to contain

The virus's severity will depend on how many people who catch it die. While suspect deaths in Mexico are being tested for H1N1, is not yet known how many mild cases of virus there may have been in the affected region that have gone untested. Both numbers are needed to calculate how deadly a case might be. One ominous sign, however, is that the Mexican cases are said to be mainly young adults, a hallmark of pandemic flu.