Swine Flu Updates

UK - David Cameron suggests “significant outbreaks for years to come”, admits to vaccine shortages

In the wake of the 2009 pandemic and current spending cuts, British Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to admit that Britain was vulnerable to further outbreaks of swine flu in “years to come”. Since October 2010 there have been 50 confirmed flu deaths, with swine flu being the dominant strain doctors have encountered.

The UK government has had to turn to part of its last year’s vaccine stocks to help bolster current treatments. Around 600 people die each year from seasonal flu, but estimates are that during an epidemic year that number is said to rise to around 13,000. Vaccines are planned to be stocked in larger numbers and made more accessible for the general public.

Russia warns of Britain Swine Flu levels - other countries raising concerns

Russia's leading health official urged a boycott of Britain over swine flu as football fans prepare to travel to Wales for the World Cup qualifier. This comes after reports showed that the largest source of Russia’s swine flu cases had origins in the British Isles. Gennadi Onishchenko claimed this was due to the rising number of nearly 12,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in the UK which have been linked to at least 31 deaths. Of the 55 infections of swine flu confirmed in Russia, 39 of them are said to be from people who had recently toured Britain.

Greece, the United Arab Emirates and China were also increasing their warnings to citizens about travelling specifically to the area, while South Korea, Japan and the Czech Republic were expressing caution for international travel in general.

South Africa concerned over possible Swine Flu outbreak for 2010

Amidst growing excitement for the largest sporting tournament in the world - tourists, governments and health officials are increasing concerns over a possible H1N1 outbreak during the World Cup. South African health minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, said that it was one of the larger concerns for the first tournament in Africa.

"One of our biggest nightmares is the fact that 2010 is going to be held in June when there is a possibility of another bout of H1N1", Motsoaledi said to parliament. In the wake of the fears, the South African department of health has acquired 1.3 million doses of the vaccine for H1N1, with the World Health Organization posing another 3.5 million at their disposal.

Vaccinations are set to start in March, three months prior to the one month tournament’s start date. Pregnant women, people entering the country and anyone involved in the sports administration are said to be intended for vaccination first.

Worldwide Swine Flu Deaths hit 1,000 - Tamiflu stockpiles being increased

The latest figures published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in Sweden report that the death toll of the H1N1 pandemic has just topped a thousand. This number is almost 200 higher than that reported by the World Health Organisation. The discrepancy between the two figures is said to come down to the former agency relying on individual government reports.

Swine flu has now spread to 30 of the 31 countries in the European Union. While Britain remains one of the hardest hit in terms of fatalities, other nations have praised the British government for stockpiling more and more anti-viral drugs like Tamiflu. Although cautions are accompanying those praises as excessive treatment of Tamiflu could cause the strain to mutate and become resistant to the medication. The United Kingdom has one of the highest reported cases of swine flu in the EU.

Effective Swine Flu Vaccine - Several months away, maybe unsafe

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that an effective vaccine for swine flu may still be months away. Dr Margaret Chan, director general of the organisation, also added the danger in potentially using an unsafe treatment.

“...having a vaccine available is not the same as having a vaccine that has been proven safe. Clinical trial data will not be available for another two to three months.” She said. This comes after the shock death of six-year-old London schoolgirl Chloe Buckley, who unlike previous victims of H1N1 had been entirely healthy.

Public fears are on the rise through the UK and EU in this regard, with any effective treatment still several months away. British health officials are adamant that once a vaccine is presented that the UK will be “top of the list” in terms of receiving it. Estimated numbers of infections are set to rise as the British islands are regarded as highly travelled zones.

Culling pigs won’t stop Swine Flu

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has said that culling pigs will not affect the spreading “swine flu” in any way. This comes after Egyptian Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali said that the country would immediately begin slaughtering all pig herds as a precaution against the unique strain.

The OIE issued its statement in response to the Egyptian minister’s intentions, citing that it “will not help to guard against public or animal risks presented by this novel A/H1N1 influenza virus.” Egypt has been one of the highly affected countries worldwide, experiencing numerous infections, including that of H5N1 avian flu, which seems to be set to rise in the coming months.

Saber Abdel Aziz Galal, the agriculture ministry’s head of infectious diseases, said this action would form part of a larger plan to improve farming standards in general. “We will build new farms in special areas, like in Europe. Within two years the pigs will return, but we need first to build new farms.” He added that this is because of the current state of farms, where pigs live in close proximity to ‘rats, poultry and rubbish’.

OIE Director General Bernard Vallat remains adamant that this will not contribute positively to the threat of swine flu. “In light of current information, it is completely unjustified to slaughter any animal in the aim of preventing or curbing this crisis.” he said.

UN set for crisis talks - possibly first pandemic in 40 years

Health officials from the United Nations have arranged an emergency meeting to discuss the possibilities of swine flu, and the potential first global flu pandemic in 40 years.

This is after the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported a large increase of the number of infections in Australia. International fears are increasing as misinformation begins to suggest the pandemic may reach similar scales to that which occurred in 1968, killing nearly one million people.

WHO has however, resisted putting these two events within the same category before substantial evidence and progressions are investigated even though initial reports are already leaning towards a full blown pandemic. The H1N1 strain first emerged in Mexico this April with a steady rise of occurrences in the Americas.

Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s head of global influenza program, said that it will take time to know exactly the gravity of the situation but acknowledged the possibility and the current direction the virus seems to be heading. “We are getting close to knowing that we are in a pandemic situation”.

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