Swine FluJust another Totalaccessnet.com Blogs weblog

Vaccine against seasonal influenza strain H1N1 is not believed to protect

us.  Vaccines against the Swine Flu to cope with seasonal flu to minimize

infection rates are typically developed, and yet annually it still kills

around half a million of the world’s population.  Today, they use an

injection of “killed virus”, the world’s flu vaccines.  Manufacturers are

asked to produce a vaccine for H1N1, they are unlikely to be able to

respond quickly enough if a global pandemic is declared.

About a billion doses of any one vaccine each year is the only they can

produce, so that even if all the capacity was switched to fight a pandemic

flu, as opposed to a seasonal flu.  Few years ago, the supply of the

vaccines they have produced were enough to epidemic but now is not enough

for the total population’s outbreak.

Deadlier wave of a new H1N1 strain they forecast will reappear this fall

and they have to produce pandemic vaccines as early as now to prepare for a

turn out as the vaccine may not be as effective will be sure to a big waste

of resources with serious results, and there would also be a shortage of

seasonal flu vaccine available.  Only a few more weeks were needed for the

World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention) CDC to develop a “seed strain” of the pandemic virus on the

first days May, but producers would then need four to six months before

they could create large volumes of vaccine.

In other point of view, the WHO will attempt to make sure that a

substantial amount is available and should a pandemic be declared and a

vaccine produced, for the benefit of developing countries.  Vaccine

manufacturers and countries with standing orders, such as the U.S. and some

European countries will be asked to share with developing countries from

the moment the first batches are ready if an H1N1 vaccine is made.

2009-2010 flu seasons are ineffective against the new strain with the

previous influenza vaccines for the north and south hemispheres.  The WHO

claims that two separate immunizations will be required for seasonal and

swine flu, but no decision would be made on whether to begin producing a

swine flu vaccine.  The board will receive inputs from manufacturers (e.g.

GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis and Baxter International)

regarding when they are able to finish manufacturing the seasonal shot and

begin production of the swine flu vaccine, waiting from the WHO of their

recommendations and “seed virus”, and some may be ready to proceed with

production at that time.

There also antiviral drugs available for treatments of influenza, the virus

is resistant to amantadine and rimantadine but sensitive to the oseltamivir

and zanamivir.  There remains concern that this strain may mutate develop

resistance to oseltamivir in the future.  For the treatment and prevention

of the Swine Flu, the CDC recommended the use of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and

Relenza (zanamivir).  Studies shows that the medication continues to

maintain its effective that why the U.S. government had already extended

the shelf life of federally stockpiled Tamiflu from their original five

years to seven years.

Buying medications from online sources is not recommended by the WHO

because they believed that half of the drugs they sold are counterfeited. 

Others are thinking if they grab up antiviral drugs for their safe even if

they have no symptoms, the health officials warned them may eventually lead

them to the Swine Flu virus developing drug resistance.