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A patient is given a H1N1 swine flu vaccination at the University College London hospital, on October 21, 2009.
Flu has killed 27 people in Britain since the influenza season began in October and transmission of the virus is picking up across the European Union, health officials said on Thursday.
Latest data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed that 24 people died with the H1N1 flu strain that spread around the world as a pandemic in 2009, and three with from a strain known as flu type B. Eighteen of those who died were adults and nine were children.
“The level of flu activity we are currently seeing is at levels often seen during the winter flu seasons, but due to the fact that H1N1 is one of the predominant strains circulating at the moment, we are seeing more severe illness in people under the age of 65 than we would normally expect,” said John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the HPA.
European health experts have said other European countries should see the severe flu hitting Britain at the moment as a warning of what might be coming to them soon.
“Influenza transmission is now picking up across the European Union,” Marc Sprenger, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which monitors disease in the region, said in a statement.
The H1N1 strain is among the seasonal flu vaccines being offered across the world this year after the WHO advised it was likely to be the most dominant strain of the northern hemisphere’s 2010/2011 flu season. Flu vaccines are made by several drugmakers including GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis and Novartis.
Sprenger said the ECDC’s advice was that all those who are recommended to have the influenza vaccine by their national authorities should get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“Vaccines and vaccination can be an emotive issue and citizens rightly ask for assurance,” he added. “The scientific evidence shows that seasonal influenza vaccines are effective and very safe. They provide a protection of up to 80 percent against influenza on an individual basis.”
For most people, flu infection is just a nasty experience, but for some it can lead to more serious illness. The most common complications of flu are bronchitis and secondary bacterial pneumonia.
“Flu can be an extremely serious illness for people in ‘at risk’ groups, including pregnant women, the elderly and those with other underlying conditions such as heart problems, diabetes, lung, liver or renal diseases and those who have weakened immune systems,” said Watson.
Health officials said on Tuesday that more than 300 people were in intensive care with flu in hospitals across Britain.
H1N1 flu was discovered in Mexico and the United States in March 2009 and spread rapidly across the world. The World Health Organisation, which declared the pandemic over in August, said about 18,450 people died from the virus, including many pregnant women and young people.
This April 16, 2009 file photo, shows a sign at the Citigroup Center in New York. Some of New York City's largest employers - including Citigroup - have started receiving doses of the much-in-demand swine flu vaccine for their at-risk employees. The swine flu vaccine has been in short supply nationwide because of manufacturing delays, resulting in long lines at clinics and patients being turned away at doctor's offices. The government has recommended that the limited supply go first to high-risk groups: children and young people through age 24, people caring for infants under 6 months, pregnant women and health care workers. Citigroup has received 1,200 doses, health officials said.
UPDATES with most recent information; graphic shows the weekly number of swine flu vaccine shipments since Oct. 14; includes state-by-state breakdown for most recent week
Some of New York's biggest companies, including Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, received doses of swine flu vaccine for at-risk employees, drawing criticism that the hard-to-find vaccine is going first to the privileged.
Hospitals, universities and the Federal Reserve Bank also got doses of the vaccine for employees who need it the most, such as pregnant women or chronically ill workers, according to the city's health department.
In order to receive the vaccine, companies had to have their own medical staff. Distributing large doses of the vaccine to such businesses is "a great avenue for vaccinating people at risk," said Jessica Scaperotti, spokeswoman for the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
But critics said Wall Street firms should not have access to the vaccine before less wealthy Americans.
"Vaccines should go to people who need them most, not people who happen to work on Wall Street," Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut said Thursday.
"Wall Street banks have already taken so much from us. They've taken trillions of our tax dollars. They've taken away people's homes who are struggling to pay the bills," union official John VanDeventer wrote on the Web site of the 2 million-member Service Employees International Union. "But they should not be allowed to take away our health and well-being."
Meanwhile, the director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a letter Thursday to state and local health departments asking them to review their distribution plans and make sure the vaccine is getting to high-risk groups.
Dr. Thomas Frieden said any decisions that appear to send vaccine beyond high-priority groups "have the potential to undermine the credibility of the program."
Swine flu vaccine has been in short supply nationwide because of manufacturing delays, resulting in long lines at clinics and patients being turned away at doctor's offices. The vaccine started trickling out in early October, and there are now nearly 36 million doses available.
The government-funded vaccine is being distributed to states, where health departments decide where to send the limited doses.
In New York, doctors at companies that have employee health services can request the vaccine along with other doctors but must agree to vaccinate only high-risk employees, Scaperotti said.
Last month, the city began offering vaccine to schoolchildren, as well as to pediatricians and obstetricians who asked for it. Scaperotti said two-thirds of the pediatricians in New York City have requested vaccine.
New Yorkers who cannot get the vaccine at work are receiving it from their doctors — if their doctors have it — or at community health clinics.
About 50 people waited to be vaccinated Thursday at a city-run clinic in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Matt Bohart said he and his 82-year-old father, Eugene Bohart, had been waiting for three hours for both swine flu and seasonal flu vaccines.
The younger Bohart said the fact that employees of some companies can get the vaccine at work seemed "not really fair."
But he added, "I don't begrudge the people who get it as long as others can get it as well."
Dr. William Schaffner, a flu expert at Vanderbilt University, said allocation of limited vaccine is tricky. CDC guidelines provide a list of patients who should be at the front of the line: children and young people through age 24, people caring for infants under 6 months, pregnant women, health care workers, and adults with health conditions such as asthma and diabetes.
Schaffner said that if corporations are giving shots to at-risk people, the distribution may have been appropriate. But he acknowledged there's "an appearance of potential irregularity."
Still, he said, "I have a feeling that if it were a Ford dealership that got vaccine, there wouldn't be quite as much excitement."
Scaperotti said 50 employers in New York City have received the vaccine so far. Besides Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, they include Time Inc. and hospitals such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Goldman Sachs has received 200 doses, and Citigroup has received 1,200, health officials said.
In statements, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs said the vaccine would only go to those in high-risk groups.
"Goldman Sachs, like other responsible employers, has requested vaccine and will supply it only to employees who qualify," spokesman Ed Canaday said.
Morgan Stanley received 1,000 doses of the vaccine for its New York and suburban offices, but the company turned over its entire supply to local hospitals when it learned it received shipments before some area hospitals, spokeswoman Jeanmarie McFadden said.
The White House circled the wagons just hours after reports that Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup got vaccine for their high-risk workers while some hospitals and clinics are still waiting for it.
White House officials defended their handling of the H1N1 outbreak after an uproar over local officials' mistakes and what appeared to be their own misleading comments.
"The president has done everything humanly possible to get ready for this epidemic," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday.
Gibbs' comments came just hours after reports that Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup got vaccines for their high-risk workers while some hospitals and clinics are still waiting for it.
"If you're going to prioritize everybody who works in a contained area, maybe you ought to be at elementary schools instead of Wall Street banks," said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
The Service Employees International Union was more harsh in its criticism.
"It's bad enough that Wall Street crashed our economy. But purposely endangering the health of millions of Americans during a public health crisis crosses all lines of decency," the union said in a statement.
Gibbs blamed local officials that he said have already been scolded by the Centers for Disease Control.
"The CDC director is sending a letter to every state and city receiving vaccine to reiterate that vaccine should be going to priority groups per the CDC," Gibbs said.
But in recent days, Gibbs himself appeared to mislead when asked whether H1N1 vaccine would be given to detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
"There is no vaccine in Guantanamo and there's no vaccine on the way to Guantanamo," Gibbs said Tuesday.
A day later, a Pentagon spokesman made clear Gibbs should have said "yet" because vaccine will eventually be going to Gitmo based upon the need to protect our forces from the risk posed by an outbreak of swine flu within the confines of the detention facility.
Officials say vaccine will be provided to U.S. troops overseas before it's sent to Gitmo, but they won't say if that's before it's widely available to the general public in this country, which is probably sometime in December. The White House says pharmaceutical companies overestimated how fast they could create the vaccine but critics say Obama waited too long to declare an emergency, which speeded up the distribution process.
"The president could have done some things 10 weeks ago that he did 10 or so days ago to waive some liability concerns and some other things that get this vaccine available," Blunt said.
The White House is also fighting critics who say the swine flu missteps bode ill for the push for health care reform. Gibbs says the connection is strained and he rejects the claim that the vaccine shortages suggest health reform might not be well thought out.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius promised that, despite delays, there would eventually be enough swine flu vaccine for all Americans. “The vaccine is coming out the door as fast as it comes off the production line,” she said. The secretary appeared on three morning television news programs to deliver the assurance. Slow growth of the vaccine in eggs and different production problems at the five companies making the vaccine mean the country will have only about 30 million doses by the end of this month.
Ontario has become the first province to delay seasonal influenza vaccines to most residents because of the threat posed by swine flu.
The decision, announced Thursday, comes as public health officials across the country are reconsidering their immunization plans in light of unpublished Canadian studies that suggest earlier seasonal flu shots raise the risk of contracting the pandemic H1N1 flu virus.
“Is it typical that we adjust our programs?” said Arlene King, Ontario's chief medical officer of health. “No, it isn't typical, but we are not dealing with a typical flu season this year.”
Ontario's program is based on a calculation that swine flu will sicken more people than seasonal influenza this fall and winter. Despite hopes for a pan-Canadian vaccination strategy, the province's approach is different than those in other provinces.
Parents panicked over whether their sick children might have swine flu are unnecessarily clogging Houston's emergency rooms, and supplies of the most popular flu symptom-fighting drug aren't meeting the region's demand, health officials said Thursday.
Waiting rooms at both children's hospitals in the Texas Medical Center are packed at levels typically seen in January, the peak of traditional flu season, officials said. Texas Children's Hospital opened an outdoor assessment center under a tent Wednesday afternoon to handle a 40 percent increase in patients. Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital has had an equivalent increase in flu patients, spokeswoman Jennifer Hart said, and there's been a significant uptick at Memorial Hermann's community hospitals.
Clinicians say the scene is similar to what happened in the spring, when the H1N1, also known as swine flu, broke out in Mexico and was transmitted across the globe. Children and young adults are especially at risk, having the highest rates of hospitalization and deaths.
Meanwhile, federal health officials on Thursday said the first swine flu vaccinations should be available in the coming weeks, though there won't initially be enough for everyone to be treated.
“We are likely to have some initial doses available the first full week in October,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Sebelius said 6 million to 7 million doses will be available in that initial batch. Priority will be given to those considered most vulnerable, including children, pregnant women and health workers.
By mid-October, roughly 40 million doses will be distributed, officials said. And every week thereafter, 10 million to 20 million doses will roll out across America.
The federal government has purchased 250 million vaccines, “enough for everyone in America who wants a vaccine,” Sebelius said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the first round of swine flu vaccine could be ready by early October
The nation's first round of swine flu shots could begin sooner than expected, with some vaccine available as early as the first week of October, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday.
Sebelius said she is confident the vaccine will be available early enough to beat the peak of the expected flu season this fall and that early doses are intended for health care workers and other high-priority groups.
"We're on track to have an ample supply rolling by the middle of October. But we may have some early vaccine as early as the first full week in October. We'll get the vaccine out the door as fast as it rolls off the production line," she told ABC's "This Week."
The possibility of early shots follows encouraging news from last week about the swine flu vaccine. Researchers have discovered that one dose instead of two could be enough for healthy adults, and protection could begin once vaccinated within 10 days instead of three weeks.
"That's great, which means we'll have a lot more vaccine," she said. "We also have seen a robust immune response within 10 days, instead of three weeks as was feared."
Sebelius said the vaccine doses will be distributed immediately to designated locations across the country once they are available.
"Every state has a plan saying these are the sites to get the vaccine as quickly as possible into people's arms. That's where the distribution will go," she said.
"So, the first week in October, we expect some of the vaccine to begin to roll, and by mid-October, to have the kind of supplies we were talking about. But we may have some available earlier. And we'll get it out to states as fast as it comes off the production lines," Sebelius said.
One dose means tight supplies of H1N1 vaccine won't be stretched so badly. Had it taken twice that dose, or two shots apiece, half as many people could have received the vaccine.
The winter flu vaccine is widely available now, and health authorities urged people last week to get shots now before swine flu shots start arriving.
In addition to concerns about swine flu, doctors also expect some garden-variety flu this fall as well, an illness that typically kills 36,000 Americans and hospitalizes 200,000 each year.
The officials expect about 50 million doses of swine flu vaccine to reach government warehouses by Oct. 15, and 20 million more to be ready each week after that until 195 million is reached.
Then those lots must be shipped to health centers, schools and other vaccination sites, people must be injected, and each must develop immunity. Immune responses are different in each individual, but the clinical trials suggest that most will be protected after 8 to 10 days.
So if the epidemic’s peak comes in late October, millions of people are likely to catch the flu before the vaccine is available.
“A month would have made a huge difference,” said Ira M. Longini Jr., an author of a report by an epidemic-modeling team at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and the University of Washington.
If one shot turns out to be protective in children and if the flu peaks in late December, as the 1968 Hong Kong flu did, “we could be O.K.,” Dr. Longini said. “But that’s a lot of ifs.”
In response, federal officials said there was no way to tell whether the pessimistic models would be right, since flu peaks at different times in different regions each year.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius"We're on track to have an ample supply rolling by the middle of October. But we may have some early vaccine as early as the first full week in October. We'll get the vaccine out the door as fast as it rolls off the production line," she told ABC's "This Week."The city has offered every school kid a free swine flu vaccine when it becomes available.
The winter flu vaccine is widely available now, and health authorities urged people last week to get shots now before swine flu vaccines start arriving.
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Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Sunday said the United States now expects to receive the first batch of swine flu vaccine in early October, a few weeks earlier than expected."The first week in October, we expect some of the vaccine to begin to roll," Sebelius said.On Friday, the health secretary said clinical trails had shown a single dose of the vaccine was enough to ensure immunity within 10 days.
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A White House panel is warning that the H1N1 flu virus could infect up to half of the American population in the coming months ad may lead to as many as 90,000 deaths
Antiviral medications such as Tamiflu and Relenza, which are effective in treating the H1N1 swine flu, should be taken only by people hospitalized with the flu or those at high risk for complications from the disease, U.S. health officials said Tuesday.
Those at risk include people with underlying health conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, as well as the very young, the elderly, and pregnant women, officials said.
Because the H1N1 swine flu remains mild for the vast majority of people who get it, most people won't need these medications at all, according to new guidelines for antiviral drug use issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Antiviral medicines are a critical part of our tool kit in countering influenza, both the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus and seasonal flu strains," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during an afternoon news conference.
But, Schuchat added, "most children, adolescents and adults who have influenza-like illness do not need antiviral medicine."
One reason why: If too many people take antiviral medicines it could increase the risk that the virus would become resistant to these drugs, Schuchat said.
"We have seen a bit of antiviral resistance already with the 2009 H1N1 strain, and we hope this won't take off," she said. "A critical feature is to use these antivirals very carefully so they can have benefit and not lead to problems."
Because most people who get the flu -- whether H1N1 swine flu or seasonal flu -- will not be tested to see what type of flu they have, the new guidelines are based on symptoms, not a particular flu strain, Schuchat said.
"A key point of the antiviral guidance is that hospitalized patients who are suspected to have influenza need prompt treatment with antiviral medicines," she said. "That can be a very important way to reduce the severity of illness. We don't want providers to wait until test results are available, but we want them to start antivirals when you suspect influenza."
The new guidelines also recommend that, when high-risk people have been in contact with someone who has the H1N1 swine flu, doctors should wait to see if flu symptoms develop before starting treatment with antivirals.
She stressed, however, that the new guidelines leave room for judgment and discretion on the part of doctors. "Every patient is different, and we want clinicians to have that opportunity to customize care for each patient," she said.
The recommendations include:
* Treatment with antivirals is recommended for people at higher risk for complications. These include children younger than 5 years old, adults 65 and older, pregnant women, people with chronic medical or immunosuppressive conditions, such as patients on chemotherapy, and people younger than 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy. * Treatment should not wait for lab tests because testing can delay treatment and a negative rapid test for flu does not rule out influenza. * For some high-risk patients, doctors may choose to give them antiviral prescriptions that can be filled should symptoms appear. --------------
The first 45 million doses of the vaccine are expected by mid-October.
Influence A virus subtype H1N1 is known as A(H1N1) . It is a subtype of influenzavirus A.
Most common in influenza or flu in human.
Some are endemic in Human (occur in human) , less virulent H1nN1 occurs in swine and bird.
Less virulent cause influenze like illness like seasonal flu.
In March, April and May 2009, thousands of laboratory-confirmed infections and a number of deaths were caused by an outbreak of new influence virus subtye called A(H1N1)
Previous deadly and dangerous outbreak include :-
Spanish Flu 1918 outbreak which kill about 50-100 millions of human worldwide. Cause by a subtype of H1N1 influence virus. It unusually severe and part of an avian influenze that mutated and migrate into human.
It cause a cytokinase storm , which basically cause the overstimulate immune system to secrete cytokinase into the lung tissues . This cause the lung to be flooded with fluid and destruction of lung tissues.
It cause difficulty in breathing to human and death.
Russian Flu. The more recent Russian flu was a 1977–1978 flu .Less dangerous and only infect younger people below 23 years old. Properly because it hit in 1945 era , hence causing the adult have immunity to it. In 1978-79 , it is included influenza vaccine.
2009 Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak
Consist of a mongrel of mixture of 4 types of subtype of influenze flu viruses.North American Mexican influenza, North American avian influenza, human influenza, and swine influenza virus typically found in Asia and Europe.Mixture of human,avian ,swine influence.
W.H.O in April 2009 called this new strain as Influence A(H1N1) virus.
Symptoms of Infection.
The symptoms of this new H1N1 flu virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this new H1N1 virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. The high risk groups for novel H1N1 flu are not known at this time but it’s possible that they may be the same as for seasonal influenza. People at higher risk of serious complications from seasonal flu include people age 65 years and older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), and people who are immunosuppressed (e.g., taking immunosuppressive medications, infected with HIV).
How to Prevent in Infection to self
The four key things to do that will help in preventing you from getting the H1N1 Flu or Swine Flu:
1. Wash Your Hands 2. Cover Your Cough 3. Don't Touch Your Face 4. Stay Away from People Who are Sick
CDC Recommendation CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.
* Oseltamivir (brand name Tamiflu ®) is approved to both treat and prevent influenza A and B virus infection in people one year of age and older. * Zanamivir (brand name Relenza ®) is approved to treat influenza A and B virus infection in people 7 years and older and to prevent influenza A and B virus infection in people 5 years and older.
Recommendations for using antiviral drugs for treatment or prevention of swine influenza will change as we learn more about this new virus.
Check with your physician to find out if you would need to take one of these medications to prevent or treat Swine Flu.
