Swine Flu News:
Australians warned of second swine flu wave
By Timothy McDonald
Epidemiologists are warning Australians that a second wave of swine flu is likely to sweep through workplaces, homes and classrooms.
They say it is only avoidable if people vaccinate themselves against the virus.
Across the Northern Hemisphere the swine flu returned with the winter cold, and according to the World Health Organisation, it claimed thousands of lives.
But Professor Robert Booy, from the Westmead Children's Hospital, says this can be prevented from happening in Australia.
"Never before have we been in this position where we had a highly effective and safe vaccine so that we could intervene and stop that second wave," he said.
"The Northern Hemisphere has already suffered their second wave, but we still can make a difference."
Health professionals say many Australians who have returned from trips to the Northern Hemisphere during January have brought the virus back with them.
And now children are going back to school, increasing the risk of spreading the virus.
But so far the uptake of the flu vaccine has been far less than the Federal Government hoped or expected, perhaps because in most cases the swine flu is a mild illness.
Professor Booy says it is important people with pre-existing medical conditions get immunised because the disease may pose a greater threat to them.
Professor Alan Hampson, the chairman of the Influenza Specialist Group, says it would be a mistake for others to underestimate the potential dangers of the illness.
"A lot of people - about 30 per cent of people who were seriously ill and died - were people who didn't have any known risk conditions," he said.
"It's still a disease which has had a very substantial impact and it's still a disease which really does need dealing with."
Dr Booy says it is also important that healthy people, and particularly children, get immunised in order to help protect those who are more vulnerable.
"We've seen much higher rates of hospitalisation in young children and so there's two reasons to vaccinate them," he said.
"First of all, because they're at risk of becoming so ill as to need hospitalisation, but secondly, because they're the great transmitters.
"They're the ones that spread the infection so widely and quickly in the community"
Counterfeit Tamiflu purchased over the internet
There are media reports of concerns about the purchase of fake Tamiflu over the internet.
Australia's medicines regulator, the TGA, does not believe there is a big market for counterfeit Tamiflu coming into Australia over the internet but warns consumers that medicines purchased online could be unsafe. The TGA is a member of the Permanent Forum on International Pharmaceutical Crime (PFIPC) and receives regular updates on medicine and medical device problem reports, including incidents of counterfeit goods.
The TGA works closely with border control agencies and with therapeutic product manufacturers to check for counterfeit medicines entering Australia.
While there is not a big market for counterfeit drugs in Australia because of our affordable medicines, people still do purchase drugs over the internet and risk them being counterfeit. Most medicines purchased over the internet have not been evaluated for safety or effectiveness by the TGA and the TGA warns the Australian public of the dangers of purchasing medicines by the Internet, particularly in relation to the dangers involving counterfeit therapeutic goods.
2nd wave of H1N1 flu taking off in U.S.A. officials say
Fri Oct 9, 2009 2:59pm EDT
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new pandemic of swine flu has killed 76 children in the United States alone since it emerged in April and is worsening, U.S. health officials said on Friday.
But researchers are reporting some good news about vaccines that may smooth efforts to immunize people against the pandemic flu and ordinary flu at the same time.
Although it is not quite at epidemic levels yet, H1N1 is spreading in many states at a time when normally there is little or no influenza, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Several studies reported this week show that most people, including children, who die from swine flu have underlying conditions making them more susceptible, but some who are healthy are also dying, the CDC said.
"We saw a peak of pediatric deaths starting in April, May, June," the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat told reporters in a telephone briefing. "It's starting to shoot up again."
The 76 deaths compare to 68 deaths from seasonal influenza from September 2008 to April 2009, the CDC said. Many of the children who have died had neurological conditions such as muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy, the CDC said.
The CDC is trying to roll out vaccines against swine flu at the same time as an usually early campaign of vaccinating against seasonal influenza.
Officials predicted some bumps in the road and there have been some, with some counties suspending seasonal vaccination to make room for H1N1 vaccines.
But a new report suggests it may be easier to do this. Trials show that giving an H1N1 shot at the same time as a seasonal influenza shot causes no problems and people are fully protected, said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Early results from trials of adults show those who got both shots at the same time had good immune responses to the vaccine, Fauci told the briefing.
The CDC said 6.8 million doses of H1N1 influenza vaccine were now available for states to order - much of it AstraZeneca unit MedImmune's nasal spray vaccine, which is approved for healthy people aged 2 to 49.
States have placed orders for 3.7 million doses. Orders are placed only when there are hard and fast plans for administering the vaccine.
Many states are vaccinating either healthcare workers or children first against H1N1 - both are in the CDC-designated "priority groups" for vaccine.
Schuchat said some doctors wrongly believed that healthcare workers should not get the nasal spray but only those working with severely immune system-compromised patients, such as those getting bone marrow transplants, should avoid it, she said.
CDC officials also expect 114 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine within the coming weeks. "More than 77 million doses have gone out and more is on the way. Manufacturers have readjusted their timelines for delivery of seasonal flu vaccine due to production of 2009 H1N1 vaccine," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said by email.
"It will take several weeks to get the full supply going," Schuchat added.
CDC monitoring shows that 6.1 percent of all deaths in the last week of September were due to pneumonia and influenza - just below the threshold for an epidemic, which is 6.4 percent of deaths. More than 99 percent of confirmed flu cases are the new pandemic H1N1 virus.
Swine flu vaccine about to be rolled out
September 29, 2009
THE first of the Federal Government's 21 million swine flu doses will be administered from tomorrow.
The chronically ill, pregnant women, the obese, indigenous people in remote communities and also health care workers will get the vaccine in the initial rollout.
The first injections will be given to those most at risk from swine flu, says Professor Robert Booy, but all Australians should make a booking with their GP to have the vaccine.
More than four million doses have been produced and "there will be hundreds of thousands coming into play on a weekly basis", says Prof Booy, head of clinical research at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.
"Most (injections) will be given by practise nurses, within larger practises, who will be following very carefully the safety protocols for the management of using multi-dose vials," says Professor Booy.
"Some certainly will be given by GPs but I think the great majority of doses will be given by highly professional practise nurses."
The injections will be administered at GP clinics, community centres and hospitals.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved the vaccine for use by people aged over ten.
A trial of its effectiveness in children under 10 is continuing.
A single standard dose of the matched A(H1N1) vaccine has been shown to produce a strong immune response against the swine flu in over 95 per cent of healthy adults.
Prof Booy says the vaccine, developed by the Melbourne-based CSL Ltd, had passed a more rigorous trial than that required of vaccines made for conventional seasonal flu.
"I have no qualms at all about being vaccinated myself, and as soon as its possible and available I'll get my vaccine," he says.
"I've certainly encouraged anyone who is near and dear to me - such as my sister who has a chronic respiratory condition - to get her vaccination as soon as is practicable."
Mass vaccinations could stop second swine flu wave:
Posted Sat Oct 3, 2009
An immunisation expert says at least half Australia's population needs to take up the swine flu vaccine to reduce or eradicate the virus.
The Federal Government is offering free vaccinations to everyone aged 10 or older.
Professor Robert Booy, the head of clinical research at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance at Sydney University, says he is disappointed some medical commentators have raised concerns within the public about the vaccine.
He says a second wave of the virus could be stopped if enough people take it up.
"The concern is if not enough people are vaccinated, we will have another wave, and we will have many more deaths and severe cases of disease," he said.
"If we can get at least 50 per cent of people vaccinated, then we can almost eradicate the risk of having many, many more people get this disease and die."
The World Health Organisation has provisionally recommended next year's flu vaccine includes the H1N1 strain.
Professor Booy says the recommendation makes sense.
"That's the logical and sensible thing to do," he said.
"It's not the predominant H1 strain, and so what happens every year is that we adjust the contents of the vaccine to cover the most common strains that are circulating."
Crackpots are against swine flu vaccine, says Michael Wooldridge
A FORMER federal health minister has dismissed as "crackpots and conspiracy theorists" those who would actively discourage Australians from having their swine flu vaccine.
Michael Wooldridge says the anti-vaccination movement was leading a push against Australians taking up the offer of the free vaccine, but their opposition was putting more people at risk.
"We are of course dealing with the first pandemic of the internet age which poses its own problems," says Dr Wooldridge, who says a misinformation campaign was now underway on the internet.
"The number of people who are actively opposed to immunisation is tiny, in the order of two per cent, but that group is disproportionately heard.
"The media often feels it has to present both sides of the argument ... (but) one side of the argument is almost universally held by the medical profession and most people think the rest are crackpots."
Dr Wooldridge was federal health minister in the Howard Government from 1996 to 2001. One of the achievements of his term in office was the "Immunise Australia" campaign, which saw Australia's global ranking on immunisation jump from 68th to sixth in just three years.
He was a panel member today at an expert briefing in Sydney designed to dispel "myths" about the swine flu vaccine made by CSL Ltd, and which is now being rolled out across the country.
Dr Wooldridge said those who don't heed the anti-vaccination message - not only in relation to the swine flu vaccine but also a range of immunisations - were placing themselves or their loved ones at increased risk of ill health or death.
"Their message is poisonous and insidious ... they sow seeds of doubt in the public's mind about what is essentially the single greatest advance in public health in the last 200 years," Dr Wooldridge says.
"This group has the potential to do enormous damage, and my personal view is they should treated as the crackpots and conspiracy theorists that they are."
Swine flu shots for South Australia
THE first of 1.4 million doses of swine flu vaccine will be available to South Australians from Wednesday 30th AUG 2009.
Health officials are urging pregnant women and people with chronic conditions to make immediate arrangements for a shot.
More than 300,000 doses have been distributed around the state so far, as part of a national program that cost taxpayers $100 million - Australia's largest immunisation campaign.
Twenty-five South Australians, most with pre-existing chronic conditions, have died of swine flu. Officials say for the vast majority of people, swine flu is no more serious than a normal flu and the disease appears to be on the wane.
Almost 9000 South Australians have tested positive for swine flu, officially called H1N1 influenza virus, including 520 who required hospital treatment.
As of last week, 21 patients with swine flu were being treated in hospital, including 10 in intensive care units.
The Panvax H1N1 vaccine, approved for use in people aged 10 years and older, will be available from GPs and from public clinics.
It was developed by pharmaceutical firm CSL, whose trials included testing 240 people recruited via the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Dr Katina D'Onise, of the Health Department's Communicable Disease Control Branch - who is six months pregnant - will receive one of the first shots on Wednesday.
As a public health physician, her job includes dealing with broad efforts to prevent the spread of disease.
She urged other pregnant women to see their GP about being immunised, saying the vaccine is safe for pregnant women. "Women who are pregnant are at greater risk of swine flu and this vaccination is a very good way to protect the pregnant woman and their unborn baby," she said.
"We have known for years that pregnant women are at greater risk of seasonal flu and they also are at greater risk from swine flu. They should make it a priority to have the vaccination."
Health Minister John Hill says everyone who wants a vaccination will be able to get one.
"We are providing training for health care workers and spending about $1.6 million to fund public vaccination clinics, so they can play their part in Australia's largest immunisation program," Mr Hill said.
"GPs will be the first port of call for most vaccinations, but we have also been working with councils so that they can offer the swine flu vaccine at nominated H1N1 vaccination clinics."
SA Chief Medical Officer Professor Paddy Phillips said swine flu was still in the community, and with the northern hemisphere's winter approaching, there was a possibility of travellers bringing the virus into South Australia.
Third swine flu vaccine nears EU approval
LONDON — European regulators, fighting the threat of a second wave of deadly swine flu, on Friday 02 OCT 2009 paved the way for a third pandemic vaccine to be approved for use across the European Union.
The London-based European Medicines Agency (EMEA) recommended that the European Commission give the green light for the Celvapan vaccine, produced by US drugs firm Baxter, to be used across the EU's 27 member nations.
"The EMEA has recommended to the European Commission that an additional vaccine against influenza A(H1N1), Celvapan from Baxter, be granted a marketing authorisation," it said in a statement.
"Adoption of an authorisation decision by the European Commission is expected shortly."
European authorities have already fast-tracked approval of two other vaccines - Pandemrix from British firm GlaxoSmithKline and Focetria from Swiss peer Novartis - amid mounting fears about the new winter influenza season.
Adding to the sense of urgency, Britain reported yet another jump in swine flu infections on Thursday.
The European Commission had approved Pandemrix and Focetria on Tuesday following their recent recommendation by the EMEA.
In Britain - the worst hit European nation from swine flu - vaccinations are expected to begin later this month.
Governments in the northern hemisphere have ordered swine flu vaccines ahead of the winter season as they brace for a second wave of the virus, which spread across the world after emerging in Mexico and the United States in April.
The number of new swine flu cases in Britain jumped last week, health officials had revealed on Thursday.
About 14,000 people contracted the A(H1N1) virus in England last week, up from 9,000 the week before, while cases in Scotland almost doubled to 13,800, according to the Health Protection Agency.
"It's steadily mounting," Britain's Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson had said on Thursday.
"We're not seeing the sort of explosive increase, doubling week on week that we've seen in some previous pandemics, but it is the start of the second peak, we are pretty confident of that," he told the BBC.
The figures are nowhere near the peak of more than 100,000 new cases in a week in July. But Donaldson said: "There is still time for that to happen."
"The good news about the vaccine is that we got the green light, the approval of the vaccine in Europe and we expect to be able to begin to administer it in the second half of October," he told Sky News.
The number of deaths of people with swine flu stands at 85 in Britain, with 72 in England, 10 in Scotland, two in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.
The Republic of Ireland reported Thursday two more deaths, bringing the total number of swine flu-linked fatalities there to four.
GSK announced Wednesday that it would next week begin shipping its Pandemrix vaccine across Europe.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said pharmaceutical firms can produce only three billion doses of swine flu vaccines a year, covering less than half of the global population.
However, tests on vaccines show that just one jab would offer sufficient protection against the A(H1N1) virus and that the vaccine is as safe as seasonal flu vaccines, the UN agency added.
At least 3,917 people have died from the A(H1N1) virus since it was uncovered in April, according to the WHO. There have been 2,948 fatalities in the Americas region.
Swine flu jab charge possible
Posted Thu Oct 1
A Tasmanian health official has confirmed some doctor may charge for swine flu vaccinations visits.
The Federal Government has told GPs they can bulk bill the vaccinations.
Tasmania's Director of Public Health Roscoe Taylor says some doctors might charge consultation fees.
"Some GPs still have the right, if they wish to charge a fee over and above Medicare, the $66 fee," he said.
"Obviously there'll be some Medicare rebate to that and my advice on the General Practice Divisions is that the majority will probably be bulk billing but they always reserve that right."
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