From Reuters:
Seasonal flu viruses are developing the ability to evade influenza drugs globally, but how and why this is happening is not clear, experts told a conference on Monday.
Europe is the worst-affected by strains of influenza that resist the effects of antiviral drugs, but the resistance is growing globally, they told a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
"A significant proportion of resistant viruses were observed in Europe this winter," Dr. Bruno Lina of Claude Bernard University in Lyons, France, told the meeting.
The resistance also varies by strain, with a quarter of H1N1 flu viruses resistant in Europe and about 11 percent of H1N1 in the United States, but far fewer cases of H3N2 and influenza B viruses. ...more
Showing posts with label influenza pandemic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label influenza pandemic. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
GlaxoSmithKline approved to sell bird flu vaccine in Europe
From CBC News:
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline says it has received regulatory approval to sell its H5N1 bird flu vaccine to European countries.
The pre-pandemic H5N1 vaccine, to be sold under the name Prepandrix, will be marketed to countries seeking to stockpile the vaccine in the event of a human bird flu pandemic.
"This vaccine marks a significant step in the world's ability to cope with an influenza pandemic," GSK chief Jean-Pierre Garnier said in a release Monday.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu mainly affects birds, although the World Health Organization has reported 382 human cases of H5N1 infection from 14 countries resulting in 241 deaths, according to GSK's release. Scientists are watching for signs it has mutated into a form that transmits easily between humans, which could lead to a global pandemic.
Governments in Switzerland and Finland have both signed contracts for vaccine to stockpile, while the Untied States has said it plans to hoard enough of the drug to protect 20 million people. Canada has chosen not to stockpile immunizations, although its current contract with GSK gives it first access to any vaccine manufactured at the company's facility in Ste-Foy, Que., if a pandemic strikes. ...more
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline says it has received regulatory approval to sell its H5N1 bird flu vaccine to European countries.
The pre-pandemic H5N1 vaccine, to be sold under the name Prepandrix, will be marketed to countries seeking to stockpile the vaccine in the event of a human bird flu pandemic.
"This vaccine marks a significant step in the world's ability to cope with an influenza pandemic," GSK chief Jean-Pierre Garnier said in a release Monday.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu mainly affects birds, although the World Health Organization has reported 382 human cases of H5N1 infection from 14 countries resulting in 241 deaths, according to GSK's release. Scientists are watching for signs it has mutated into a form that transmits easily between humans, which could lead to a global pandemic.
Governments in Switzerland and Finland have both signed contracts for vaccine to stockpile, while the Untied States has said it plans to hoard enough of the drug to protect 20 million people. Canada has chosen not to stockpile immunizations, although its current contract with GSK gives it first access to any vaccine manufactured at the company's facility in Ste-Foy, Que., if a pandemic strikes. ...more
Monday, June 18, 2007
Allocation of antivirals for flu pandemic workers stirs debate
From CBC News:
Public health officials across Canada are grappling with the medical and ethical issues of giving front-line health-care workers preventive antiviral drugs if a flu pandemic strikes.
The federal and provincial governments have stockpiled more than 500 million doses of antiviral drugs to prepare for a pandemic.
Under the current federal plan, the drugs may only be used to treat people once they are ill, a reversal of an original decision two years ago to stockpile antivirals as a preventive treatment or prophylaxis for front-line health-care workers as well. ...more
Public health officials across Canada are grappling with the medical and ethical issues of giving front-line health-care workers preventive antiviral drugs if a flu pandemic strikes.
The federal and provincial governments have stockpiled more than 500 million doses of antiviral drugs to prepare for a pandemic.
Under the current federal plan, the drugs may only be used to treat people once they are ill, a reversal of an original decision two years ago to stockpile antivirals as a preventive treatment or prophylaxis for front-line health-care workers as well. ...more
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