Flu Bird flu vaccines no guarantee in pandemic:

Discussion in 'Survival Medicine' started by Quigley_Sharps, Oct 13, 2005.


  1. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Bird flu vaccines no guarantee in pandemic: WHO
    Last Updated Tue, 11 Oct 2005 18:41:30 EDT
    CBC News
    Vaccine stockpiles may prove useless against an outbreak of the human form of bird flu, a UN official warned Tuesday.


    INDEPTH: Avian Flu:
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/avianflu/

    Current vaccines may not work against whichever mutant strain triggers the pandemic that UN officials view as inevitable, said David Nabarro, the United Nations co-ordinator for avian and human influenza.


    RELATED STORY: Bird flu reported in Romania and Turkey:
    http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/10/08/Birdflu20051008.html

    During a pandemic, it could take six months before vaccine stocks are available because drug companies can't produce an effective vaccine until the genetic makeup of the mutant strain is known, he said.

    "There will be an influenza pandemic sometime, but we don't know when," said Nabarro. "It could be mild, it could be severe, it could be extremely severe."

    The bird flu virus needs to gain the ability to spread between people easily before a pandemic could occur.

    Officials with the World Health Organization and governments are looking at ways for vaccine makers to ramp up production more quickly.

    Since 2003, the H5N1 form of bird flu has infected 117 people and killed 60 in Asia, according to WHO. Most cases were among poultry workers.

    The world needs a well-funded and co-ordinated effort to stop the spread of H5N1, but the strain may not be the one that causes a pandemic, Nabarro said.

    Officials from WHO, and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt are visiting affected countries in southeast Asia this week to co-ordinate plans to fight H5N1.

    Experts stressed the importance of sharing information on human outbreaks and taking hygiene precautions, such as using disinfectant and preventing birds from wandering freely.




    Current vaccines may not work against whichever mutant strain triggers the pandemic that UN officials view as inevitable, said David Nabarro, the United Nations co-ordinator for avian and human influenza.


    RELATED STORY: Bird flu reported in Romania and Turkey

    During a pandemic, it could take six months before vaccine stocks are available because drug companies can't produce an effective vaccine until the genetic makeup of the mutant strain is known, he said.

    "There will be an influenza pandemic sometime, but we don't know when," said Nabarro. "It could be mild, it could be severe, it could be extremely severe."

    The bird flu virus needs to gain the ability to spread between people easily before a pandemic could occur.

    Officials with the World Health Organization and governments are looking at ways for vaccine makers to ramp up production more quickly.

    Since 2003, the H5N1 form of bird flu has infected 117 people and killed 60 in Asia, according to WHO. Most cases were among poultry workers.

    The world needs a well-funded and co-ordinated effort to stop the spread of H5N1, but the strain may not be the one that causes a pandemic, Nabarro said.

    Officials from WHO, and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt are visiting affected countries in southeast Asia this week to co-ordinate plans to fight H5N1.

    Experts stressed the importance of sharing information on human outbreaks and taking hygiene precautions, such as using disinfectant and preventing birds from wandering freely.
     
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