Swine Flu Speading with 'Unprecedented Speed'
The World Health Organization says it's going to stop counting cases of the new H1N1 flu is no longer needed to monitor the pandemic's level or nature of risk, according to a note posted on its website.
The virus is spreading with "unprecedented speed", wrote the WHO. "At this point, further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries, is considered inevitable."
But countries need to continue to closely monitor "unusual events" like clusters of severe virus infections or unusual patterns of these serious cases. These signals might come from noticing an increase in the number of people staying home from work or school, or by an increase in emergency room visits.
On the H1N1 vaccine front, the WSJ notes that the manufacturing has been difficult. Novartis said that the yield is about 30% to 50% of what it normally gets for the seasonal flu vaccines, while Baxter told the WSJ that "yield optimization" — getting a lot of vaccine per batch — is a challenge.
Experts worry that the limited supply of vaccine will prompt a "global grab", where countries will try to protect their own citizens first, according to ABC News. This could be an issue for the U.S., which makes only 20% of the flu vaccine it uses.
"There's always a concern that when we have these international vaccine manufacturers that some of that vaccine for example might be embargoed or held back," William Schaffner, chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center told ABC.
The CDC is hosting a call for reporters at noon Eastern time today. We'll listen in and report back on the key points.
From The Wall Street Journal Online
By: Shirley S. Wang
Posted by Scott W. Yates, MD, MBA, MS, FACP
