The deadly H1N1 influenza virus, also known as swine flu, may have affected more than 57 million Americans and killed as many as 17,000 of them, according to new official estimates.
Though 2,498 confirmed deaths linked to the H1N1 virus had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta as of January 30, the agency estimates that between 8,330 and 17,160 people actually have died from H1N1.
The overwhelming majority of the people who died - between 6,390 and 13,170 - were 18 to 64 years old, according to the CDC estimates released Friday. Between 880 and 1,810 children 17 years old and younger also died from this flu, it estimated.
In comparison, the CDC says that in a regular flu season, about 36,000 people in the United States die from seasonal flu, with 90 percent of the deaths usually occurring in people age 65 and older.
While the new figures show the H1N1 pandemic virus is still spreading, they also reflect a slowdown in the transmission of the illnesses since last October. The CDC had last estimated about 55 million Americans had been sickened, 246,000 were hospitalised and about 11,100 had died through mid-December.
While health officials have yet to declare the end of the influenza pandemic, a new round of widespread illness is increasingly unlikely now that a substantial portion of the American population has been either sickened by or vaccinated against the H1N1 pandemic virus. About 70 million people have been vaccinated.
In a separate weekly report of H1N1 influenza activity, the CDC said most influenza strains circulating as of Feb 6 are the H1N1 strain and not strains that cause seasonal influenza.
As of Feb 6, the majority of states reported “sporadic” transmission of the H1N1 virus, the CDC said. However, the CDC said doctor visits for influenza-like illnesses increased slightly over the previous week but “remain low overall.”
Fifth Swine Flu Vaccine recommendation by European regulator.
LONDON — The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) on Friday recommended a swine flu pandemic vaccine produced by French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis for European use.
"The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended the granting of a conditional marketing authorisation for Humenza from Sanofi Pasteur," the EMEA said in a brief statement.
"This is the fifth pandemic vaccine recommended for use by the committee, and the second to be assessed using an emergency procedure which fast-tracks the evaluation of new vaccines developed during a pandemic influenza."
The other four swine flu vaccines are
Arepanrix and Pandemrix, both produced by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline,
Focetria from Swiss peer Novartis,
and Celvapan which is made by US firm Baxter.
Celvapan, Focetria and Pandemrix have all won approval for use from the European Commission. However, Arepanrix has not yet been cleared for European usage.
The World Health Organisation's emergency panel of swine flu experts will meet later this month to formally determine whether the pandemic has passed its peak.
The A(H1N1) flu pandemic was generally tailing off in most parts of the world and appeared to be entering a transitional period, according to the UN health agency.
"The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended the granting of a conditional marketing authorisation for Humenza from Sanofi Pasteur," the EMEA said in a brief statement.
"This is the fifth pandemic vaccine recommended for use by the committee, and the second to be assessed using an emergency procedure which fast-tracks the evaluation of new vaccines developed during a pandemic influenza."
The other four swine flu vaccines are
Arepanrix and Pandemrix, both produced by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline,
Focetria from Swiss peer Novartis,
and Celvapan which is made by US firm Baxter.
Celvapan, Focetria and Pandemrix have all won approval for use from the European Commission. However, Arepanrix has not yet been cleared for European usage.
The World Health Organisation's emergency panel of swine flu experts will meet later this month to formally determine whether the pandemic has passed its peak.
The A(H1N1) flu pandemic was generally tailing off in most parts of the world and appeared to be entering a transitional period, according to the UN health agency.
Swine Flu
During the past week, less than 5,000 people were affected by swine flu. The Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, said in a statement, “Levels of pandemic ‘flu are currently very low, virtually concluding the second wave of the infection in this country.”
He further informed that the hospitals still have 211 patients of swine flu in England out of which 62 are in critical beds. He also says that for most people it has been a serious illness but children and younger adults developed serious conditions.
In England alone, there have been 28 more swine flu deaths since the last set of figures were announced, making the total figure go up to 279. The total number of deaths across UK amount to
390.
Even children and pregnant women have died with swine flu. This includes 21 deaths in children below five years of age and 12 pregnant women. Adults above the age of 65 were less than a fifth of the totalswine flu deaths.
The reason for fewer deaths, in adults above 65 years of age, is that they develop immunity to previous pandemics during their lives.
People who died of swine flu in England had a moderate or severe underlying health condition.
Under the swine flu vaccination programme in England, 3.7 million jabs have been given to priority groups. These groups included 132,000 pregnant women and 214,000 healthy children in the new six months to five year old group.
He further informed that the hospitals still have 211 patients of swine flu in England out of which 62 are in critical beds. He also says that for most people it has been a serious illness but children and younger adults developed serious conditions.
In England alone, there have been 28 more swine flu deaths since the last set of figures were announced, making the total figure go up to 279. The total number of deaths across UK amount to
390.
Even children and pregnant women have died with swine flu. This includes 21 deaths in children below five years of age and 12 pregnant women. Adults above the age of 65 were less than a fifth of the totalswine flu deaths.
The reason for fewer deaths, in adults above 65 years of age, is that they develop immunity to previous pandemics during their lives.
People who died of swine flu in England had a moderate or severe underlying health condition.
Under the swine flu vaccination programme in England, 3.7 million jabs have been given to priority groups. These groups included 132,000 pregnant women and 214,000 healthy children in the new six months to five year old group.
Swine flu vaccine in four to seven months
New Delhi: India is at the forefront of developing a swine flu vaccine that will be available in "four to seven months", the government announced Friday as 96 new infections were reported.
Speaking to reporters here Friday, union Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said: "The process has been already set in motion and India is at the forefront of developing a vaccine."
"But the vaccine will be available by four to seven months from now," he added.
There is no known vaccine so far to tackle the virus that has infected over 700 people in the country so far.
Dayal said the World Health Organisation had given the "seed stock" of the influenza A (H1N1) virus to India.
The seed stock is the cultured virus, which has the highest vaccine immunity and is commonly present in majority of the affected cases. If the vaccine is developed from the seed virus then it is likely to be effective for other strains.
In India, three pharmaceutical companies - Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech - are working on developing the vaccine.
The WHO is already collaborating with the Serum Institute of India for developing a seasonal flu vaccine.
Dayal said Serum Institute of India has made a lot of progress and started animal testing of the vaccine.
No need to panic over swine flu: Govt
As panic gripped people in the metros over swine flu and a record 96 new cases came up, the Indian government Friday assured that it was equipped to tackle the virus that has killed one and infected over 700 people so far in the country.
The government also announced a slew of steps to tackle the fast-spreading flu, including decentralising the drug supply and allowing accredited private laboratories to conduct the tests.
Union Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said the government is decentralising the availability of the Tamiflu drug in the country so that there is no paucity and is ready to allow accredited private laboratories to conduct the test to detect the virus provided they have the facilities.
"A lot of panic has been created in the last two days, especially since the death of the girl in Pune. There is no cause for people to go into panic mode," Dayal told a press conference here.
Rida Shaikh, 14, died in Pune Monday of swine flu, and health officials blamed the death to "delayed treatment".
Speaking to reporters here Friday, union Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said: "The process has been already set in motion and India is at the forefront of developing a vaccine."
"But the vaccine will be available by four to seven months from now," he added.
There is no known vaccine so far to tackle the virus that has infected over 700 people in the country so far.
Dayal said the World Health Organisation had given the "seed stock" of the influenza A (H1N1) virus to India.
The seed stock is the cultured virus, which has the highest vaccine immunity and is commonly present in majority of the affected cases. If the vaccine is developed from the seed virus then it is likely to be effective for other strains.
In India, three pharmaceutical companies - Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech - are working on developing the vaccine.
The WHO is already collaborating with the Serum Institute of India for developing a seasonal flu vaccine.
Dayal said Serum Institute of India has made a lot of progress and started animal testing of the vaccine.
No need to panic over swine flu: Govt
As panic gripped people in the metros over swine flu and a record 96 new cases came up, the Indian government Friday assured that it was equipped to tackle the virus that has killed one and infected over 700 people so far in the country.
The government also announced a slew of steps to tackle the fast-spreading flu, including decentralising the drug supply and allowing accredited private laboratories to conduct the tests.
Union Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said the government is decentralising the availability of the Tamiflu drug in the country so that there is no paucity and is ready to allow accredited private laboratories to conduct the test to detect the virus provided they have the facilities.
"A lot of panic has been created in the last two days, especially since the death of the girl in Pune. There is no cause for people to go into panic mode," Dayal told a press conference here.
Rida Shaikh, 14, died in Pune Monday of swine flu, and health officials blamed the death to "delayed treatment".
Schoolchildren In Some areas Had Swine Flu
Estimates were based on the numbers of people seeing their GP or contacting the flu line with symptoms but this did not capture the cases which were mild or had no symptoms, the Health Protection Agency experts said.
In an article published online in The Lancet medical journal Prof Elizabeth Miller and colleagues described how blood samples taken before and after the swine flu outbreak has found many more people had the disease.
Before the outbreak only 1.8 per cent of children aged up to four years had any immunity against H1N1 rising to almost a third of people over 80 who were probably exposed to very similar viruses in previous pandemics.
But in August and September the proportion of children aged up to four with H1N1 antibodies rose to one fifth in London and the West Midlands. Almost half of children aged between five and 14 had antibodies, they said.
Prof Miller wrote: “Rates of infection with 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza in the first wave were greatest in children younger than 15 years of age, with an estimated 45 per cent of schoolchildren aged five to 14 years being infected in high incidence regions.
"This finding is consistent with the high level of susceptibility in children and the increased potential for transmission that occurs within schools. We also showed substantial differences between regions in the extent of infection during the first wave.
“This serological study shows the true extent of H1N1 infection in the initial wave of the pandemic in England in 2009. Its findings should be applicable to other countries that have experienced a similar first wave.”
In a separate study it was found that because so many children were infected in the first wave that by the time the second wave hit, after the schools reopened in September, there was little impact the vaccine could make on the spread of the disease.
This supports the approach taken by government to vaccinate people at risk of complications if they contracted swine flu rather than a blanket programme aimed at slowing the spread of the disease.
Prof Miller added “This model, together with the serological data, would suggest that by the time vaccine became available in the UK in late October, 2009, the potential for mitigating the overall effect of the second wave by vaccination was limited.
“Around one child in every three was infected with 2009 pandemic H1N1 in the first wave of infection in regions with a high incidence, ten times more than estimated from clinical surveillance. Pre-existing antibody in older age groups protects against infection. Children have an important role in transmission of influenza and would be a key target group for vaccination both for their protection and for the protection of others through herd immunity.”
In an article published online in The Lancet medical journal Prof Elizabeth Miller and colleagues described how blood samples taken before and after the swine flu outbreak has found many more people had the disease.
Before the outbreak only 1.8 per cent of children aged up to four years had any immunity against H1N1 rising to almost a third of people over 80 who were probably exposed to very similar viruses in previous pandemics.
But in August and September the proportion of children aged up to four with H1N1 antibodies rose to one fifth in London and the West Midlands. Almost half of children aged between five and 14 had antibodies, they said.
Prof Miller wrote: “Rates of infection with 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza in the first wave were greatest in children younger than 15 years of age, with an estimated 45 per cent of schoolchildren aged five to 14 years being infected in high incidence regions.
"This finding is consistent with the high level of susceptibility in children and the increased potential for transmission that occurs within schools. We also showed substantial differences between regions in the extent of infection during the first wave.
“This serological study shows the true extent of H1N1 infection in the initial wave of the pandemic in England in 2009. Its findings should be applicable to other countries that have experienced a similar first wave.”
In a separate study it was found that because so many children were infected in the first wave that by the time the second wave hit, after the schools reopened in September, there was little impact the vaccine could make on the spread of the disease.
This supports the approach taken by government to vaccinate people at risk of complications if they contracted swine flu rather than a blanket programme aimed at slowing the spread of the disease.
Prof Miller added “This model, together with the serological data, would suggest that by the time vaccine became available in the UK in late October, 2009, the potential for mitigating the overall effect of the second wave by vaccination was limited.
“Around one child in every three was infected with 2009 pandemic H1N1 in the first wave of infection in regions with a high incidence, ten times more than estimated from clinical surveillance. Pre-existing antibody in older age groups protects against infection. Children have an important role in transmission of influenza and would be a key target group for vaccination both for their protection and for the protection of others through herd immunity.”
