As with all types of flu, the basic medical advice in the case of suspicions or confirmations of a bird flu infection is plenty of rest and drinking lots of liquids. Antiviral medication may help in relieving some of the symptoms, however antibiotics (e.g. penicillin) are not effective. Classic generic flu drugs, such as amantadine […]
Travellers, especially those going to high-risk zones such as Southeast Asia, should follow the guidelines below in order to avoid contracting avian influenza: Avoid any close contact with domesticated birds. Prevent bird flu contact by avoiding rural areas, small farms or open-air markets. Avoid any close contact with domesticated birds. Prevent bird flu contact by […]
Get vaccinated! Influenza vaccination is the best way to reduce chances of getting ill from influenza and from giving influenza to patients, co-workers and family. Indications are that vaccination against seasonal influenza at least partially protects against possible pandemic influenza strains. Also consider this: if one third of the population receives its annual shot with […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed an alert system to help inform the world about the development of the different stages towards a pandemic. The alert system is comprised of six phases. The current situation with the HPAI-H5N1 virus in animals and humans places the world in pandemic alert phase 3. This means that […]
Detailed planning is essential to ensure a coordinated response to an influenza pandemic, both at the national and international levels. Should schools be closed to prevent influenza from spreading? What about hospital capacity in case of a severe pandemic? How can we track the pandemic virus as it spreads? How and to whom will the […]
Since it is impossible to vaccinate the entire world population against a pandemic influenza virus when a pandemic emerges, it is necessary to determine which groups must be immunized with priority. After all, effective allocation of vaccines will play a critical role in slowing down the spread of the influenza pandemic and reducing its effects […]
When a new influenza virus appears, against which the human population has no immunity, a pandemic may occur. This happened in 1918 (the “Spanish flu”, caused by an H1N1 subtype), in 1957 (the “Asian flu” caused by an H2N2 subtype) and in 1968 (the “Hong Kong flu”, caused by an H3N2 subtype). Of all pandemics, […]
An influenza pandemic is a global outbreak of influenza and occurs when a new influenza virus emerges, spreads and causes disease worldwide. Influenza A viruses continuously undergo antigenic evolution. There are two main mechanisms by which they do so: antigenic drift causes regular influenza epidemics, while antigenic shift is the cause of occasional global outbreaks […]
Antiviral drugs for influenza are an important adjunct to influenza vaccine for the treatment and prevention of influenza. However, they are not a substitute for vaccination. Treatment Treatment with neuraminidase inhibitors (NI) such as oseltamivir and zanamivir is extremely variable between countries and is usually restricted to the very ill. Treatment with NI should only […]
Adjuvants are substances that can be added to human vaccines. They stimulate the immune system and increase the response to a vaccine, without having a specific antigenic effect themselves. The advantages, certainly in a pandemic situation, are obvious: they improve the immune response whilst the dose size (the amount of virus material or antigen in […]