6 Sept, Nepal returns new flu vaccine because of problemsNepal suspends import of A/H1N1 flu vaccines following reports of complications
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| | | KATHMANDU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Nepali government has suspended the import and use of over 2.7 million pandemrix vaccines manufactured by a global company for protecting people from influenza - A/H1N1, generally known as swine flu.
According to Sunday's Republica daily, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) decided to immediately suspend import of pandemrix vaccines on the basis of its intra-ministry technical panel's recommendations following reports of complications.
Some A/H1N1 flu patients have reportedly suffered symptoms of neurolepsy disease after receiving pandemrix vaccines manufactured by the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) -- a global pharmaceutical firm -- in some European countries.
"We will import pandemrix vaccines only if the World Health Organization (WHO)'s investigation clearly reveals that GSK's vaccines do not have anything to do with neurolepsy symptoms," said Dr Laxmi Raj Pathak, spokesperson at the MoHP.
According to Dr Pathak, WHO has already constituted a committee to investigate the possibility of pandemrix vaccines' complications in A/H1N1 flu patients.
In the Netherlands, the UK and Sweden, according to Dr Pathak, some A/H1N1 flu patients, who received GSK-pandemrix vaccines, have suffered numbness while moving hands, legs and tongues. However, it is yet to be proved by independent investigation that the numbness in A/H1N1 patients was a side-effect of GSK-pandemrix vaccines.
Avian Influenza Control Project at the Department of Health Services was set to administer pandemrix vaccines to 2.7 million people -- approximately 10 percent of the total population -- within three months from September.
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Copyright 2010 Xinhua News Agency |
H1N1 Tamiflu and Relenza Resistance in Kansas Case
Recombinomics Commentary 23:40 August 25, 2010The US CDC released an NA sequence, A/Kansas/05/2010, today (at GISAID), which had in vivo Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir) resistance. The sample was collected March 17, 2010 and had two non-synonymous changes, S363N and I 466M (S364N and I467M in N1 numbering). UPDATE: 25 August - Remember, this is now the combined flu+H1N1 solution. Think First and get the facts before you line up for this jab!
Flu vaccine for all except babies
CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Aug. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. government officials urge everyone age 6 months and older to get an influenza shot, which contains vaccine against H1N1 and two other strains of flu.
In the past, government health officials focused on vaccinating people in 'high-risk" groups -- children, the elderly, pregnant women, those with chronic diseases and those in contact with people at high risk.
"The message is simple now," Dr. David Weber, professor of medicine, pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says in a statement. "If you're more than 6 months of age, get the (influenza) vaccine."
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an advisory group for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommends universal vaccination after last year's H1N1 outbreak affected many teenagers and young adults -- a group not normally at risk for influenza.
In addition, Weber says, the list of conditions that put a person at high risk for influenza has grown during the years so many people are unaware of their high-risk status.
Adults need only one dose, but children age 6 months to age 8 may need two doses, depending on which vaccines they received last year, Weber said. © 2010 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
UPDATE: 23 August - Back to school time is vaccination time: Parents should check to make sure students are up to date on required nutrition and vitamin D, not shots.
and... More government expenditure for useless vaccine -
Administration Announces New Pandemic Preparedness Effort
The Obama administration announced that it plans to invest nearly $2 billion in measures to beef up the nation's ability to respond to bioterrorism and pandemic threats, including $822 million for pandemic influenza vaccine development.
Medical countermeasures include vaccines, antivirals, antibiotics, diagnostics, and medical equipment.
The report found that the nation's ability to respond to medical threats is lacking and could be improved by: enhancing regulatory innovation; providing core development and manufacturing services to innovators and medical countermeasure developers; expanding manufacturing capacity to be able to respond to a sudden threat; and creating novel ways for academia and industry to work together.
UPDATE: 11 August And why then do you need a vaccine? Walgreens is already advertising flu shots. Get the facts before a shot!
WHO Declares End to H1N1 Pandemic
By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: August 10, 2010
Director-General of the World Health Organization Margaret Chan, MD, MPH, has declared an end to the H1N1 influenza pandemic, following the advice of an emergency committee convened to address the issue.
"The new H1N1 virus has largely run its course," she said from Hong Kong in a conference call with reporters.
Based on previous pandemics, Chan said the virus is expected to behave like seasonal influenza viruses and continue to circulate "for some years to come." It also will likely continue to cause serious disease in younger individuals, at least in the immediate post-pandemic period, she said.
Chan noted that significant localized outbreaks of H1N1 were still possible, as is currently occurring in New Zealand.
Because of the continuing threat, the WHO continues to recommend immunization with both the monovalent H1N1 vaccine and the trivalent seasonal vaccine, of which the new H1N1 virus is a component.
The decision to declare an end to the pandemic was made based on several factors, according to Chan: the lack of out-of-season -- or summer -- outbreaks in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, the fact that current H1N1 outbreaks are similar in intensity to those of seasonal influenza, and the increasing mix of circulating influenza viruses.
During the pandemic, H1N1 largely crowded out the seasonal viruses, accounting for nearly all tested samples. Now, Chan noted, countries are observing a mix of H1N1, H3N2, and B viruses.
An additional factor that went into the decision to end the pandemic designation is evidence of community-level immunity. Studies have indicated that 20% to 40% of the population in some areas have been infected with H1N1 and, thus, have some level of immunity.
Good vaccine coverage in some areas has also contributed to community-wide immunity, Chan added.
Keiji Fukuda, MD, special adviser to Chan on pandemic influenza, urged countries to continue surveillance and remain alert for changes in the H1N1 virus. Public health officials should maintain control efforts, especially in the countries that continue to have intense activity, he added.
Chan echoed the need for continued vigilance.
"Pandemics are unpredictable and prone to deliver surprises," she said.
She noted that the mild nature of the pandemic was aided by good luck -- the virus did not mutate into a more lethal form, widespread resistance to oseltamivir did not develop, and the vaccine was a good match with the circulating virus and had an excellent safety profile.
"Had things gone wrong in any of these areas," Chan said, "we would be in a very different situation today".
It is about that time of year when the vaccine madness ramps up into full speed, luring you with false facts about epidemics and pandemics, like those that did not happen in 2009.
Boost Immunity Now - Read more below
This year risks are higher because the mental giants at CDC and PhRMA have some up with the next risky recommendation, combining seasonal flu vaccine with H1N1 solutions.
This vaccine from Australia, as noted in the post below, caused high risk of seizure and fever.
Following on other medical information, some people are not developing fever when exposed to the virus as is usually expected.
In the second article you can see CDC is listing the risky product, Afluira.
Also suggested is FluMist, a nasal spray that causes you to be contagious and spread the flu for several weeks.
Start now to boost your nutritional status as well as your immune health so you aren't hit from the blind side.
Take the time to check out all of the informative posts about the flu vaccines here at Natural Health News and at www.leaflady.org, you will be glad you did.
As more news hits the wires, we'll keep you well educated on this topic, as usual.
Physicians using standard diagnostic criteria may miss mild cases of the pandemic flu. In many mild cases, fever is not a part of the constellation of symptoms, although it is a central part of the standard diagnostic criteria.
Docs told to avoid 1 flu shot brand for small kids
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer, Thu Aug 5
ATLANTA – A government panel is recommending doctors steer clear of giving one brand of flu vaccine to young children this year because of convulsions and fever in kids who got the shot in Australia and New Zealand.
At issues is the flu vaccine made by CSL Biotherapies, an Australian company. CSL is one of five manufacturers supplying the U.S. this fall but it only accounts for a small portion of the 170 million doses.
On Thursday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said doctors should avoid using the CSL vaccine in children ages 6 months through 8 years.
Committee members were concerned about the unexplained higher rate of fevers and related seizures seen in young children who got the vaccine earlier this year in Australia and New Zealand. In kids under 5, the rates were roughly 10 times that of other flu vaccines. No deaths have been linked to the problem.
The panel said the vaccine could be used in children older than 5 if they were at greater risk of flu complications and no other vaccine was available.
The committee provides vaccine advice to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which usually adopts its recommendations and sends the advice to doctors and the public.
Australian investigators have been unable to find anything in the CSL vaccine that might explain why it would cause more fevers and convulsions in children.
But a CSL spokeswoman said the company agreed with the U.S. committee's decision.
"We support the precautionary approach," said spokeswoman Sharon McHale.
She said the company had already decided not to distribute one version of its vaccine intended for the youngest children. That means CSL will only be providing 10.5 million of the 170 million U.S. doses.
As expected, the U.S. flu vaccine for next fall will include the pandemic flu that has swept the world, the FDA said.
One component of the vaccine will be what is formally known as A/California/7/09 (H1N1)-like virus, the agency said in a statement.
The others will be another influenza A strain and an influenza B -- formally known as A/Perth /16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus and B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus, respectively.
The strains included in the seasonal flu vaccine are chosen by a panel of experts to be those most likely to cause disease in the coming season. The pandemic strain was by far the most common in 2009-2010, with almost no other variant causing disease, and is expected to continue its preeminence.
A range of different brands will be produced for next fall and winter, the FDA said, including:
• Afluria, made by CSL
• Agriflu and Fluvirin, made by Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics
• Fluarix, by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals
• FluLaval, by ID Biomedical Corp
• FluMist, by MedImmune Vaccines
• Fluzone and Fluzone High-Dose, manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur
The labeling for Afluria has been changed this year to inform healthcare providers about an increased incidence of fever and febrile seizure in young children, mainly under 5, after they were given the 2010 Southern Hemisphere formulation of the vaccine.
BOOST IMMUNITY NOW
We recommend GarlicRx
Vitamin D May Fight Colds By Catherine Donaldson-Evans Aug 6th 2010
Taking vitamin D every day might help ward off colds and the flu, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Tampere in Finland found that men given a daily vitamin D supplement over a six-month period were more likely to take no sick days from work than those who were given placebos.
In fact, 51 percent of the 164 male military recruits who participated stayed healthy for the duration of the study as opposed to just 36 percent in the control group, according to the scientists.
The findings provide "some evidence" that vitamin D can help guard against respiratory infections, according to Dr. Ilkka Laaksi, lead author of the study published online in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Recent lab research has indicated that the vitamin, found in milk, sunshine and other natural sources, potentially plays an "important role" in bolstering the human body's immunity against respiratory pathogens, Laaksi told Reuters Health.
"However, there is a lack of clinical studies of the effect of vitamin D supplementation for preventing respiratory infections," Laaksi said.
Other previous studies have found that people with lower vitamin D levels in their bloodstream have higher incidences of colds and flu-like illnesses. Vitamin D deficiencies in children have also been linked to higher rates of type 1 diabetes and severe asthma attacks and in adults to depression, cancer and heart disease.
It hasn't been conclusively shown that a shortage of the compound in the body is the reason for the added health risks.
The team led by Laaksi randomly chose one group among the 164 men to take 400 IU of vitamin D a day and another group to take a placebo pill every day between October and March, when cold and flu season peak and when the lack of sunshine leads to a dip in people's vitamin D levels.
The researchers saw no obvious distinction in the average number of days missed from military duty because of respiratory illnesses (including bronchitis, sore throat, pneumonia and sinus and ear infections) between the two groups. The recruits who took the vitamins were out sick about two days and those who took the placebos missed about three days because of a respiratory infection.
The difference wasn't statistically significant. But the fact that those who took daily vitamin D were less likely to have a single day missed from work than those who didn't indicates the supplement does have some benefit in guarding against colds, the flu and related sicknesses.
The extent of the potentially positive impact of the vitamin on respiratory health wasn't able to be determined, as those who took it weren't less likely to report having cold-like symptoms at some stage while the study was being conducted, according to Reuters.
In addition, other studies on the subject have been inconclusive and contradictory, with some finding no difference in the risk of respiratory infections between groups who take a daily D supplement and those who don't.
Laaksi suggested that more clinical trials be done using varying amounts of the vitamin to more conclusively determine whether it can in fact protect against colds and other respiratory illnesses.
