Victoria - Nearly all state's flu 'is swine flu'

[Chuck]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25750159-12377,00.html

Nearly all state's flu 'is swine flu'

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July 08, 2009
Article from: Australian Associated Press

RESEARCH claims that 99 per cent of Victorians who are down with the flu, almost certainly have swine flu.

Head of epidemiology at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Heath Kelly, says that of the 73 people who tested positive for influenza at clinics monitoring flu viruses during the last week of June, 99 per cent had the H1N1 virus.

"It's amazing, swine flu has taken over the flu season,'' Dr Kelly told The Age.

"If you've got the flu, you've almost certainly got swine flu.''

The research, published in an online edition of the Medical Journal of Australia, also showed the median age of Victorians with the virus was between 18 to 22 years.

Australia has had 6353 laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu with 13 deaths, including seven in Victoria.

[wotan]

Re: Victoria - Nearly all state's flu 'is swine flu'

Is there any research from 1957 or 1968 that shows pandemic Influenza outcompeting even the influenza B species?

[the doctor]

Re: Victoria - Nearly all state's flu 'is swine flu'

Well that is very interesting. It seems that in Victoria the novel strain has already displaced both seasonal H1N1 and H2N3.

If this pattern holds, all those doses of seasonal flu the world has produced for the coming fall will come to naught.

This is a key development. It suggests that all vaccine development from this point forth should focus on the novel strain exclusively.

There is very little time remaining to do anything about this.

I am becoming increasing concerned about the use of adjuvants especially squalene. What seems the best option is to concentrate on the development of a live attenuated influenza vaccine exclusively. Using a LAIV requires much lower levels of antigen, no adjutants, uses only one dose, has been safely used in children and imparts better immunity compared with killed vaccines.

GW