Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
ANTIVIRALS AND SCHOOL CLOSURES 'COULD HALVE FLU CASES'
BNN: British Nursing News Online
BNN: British Nursing News Online
The number of people affected by a potential flu pandemic could be significantly reduced by increasing access to antiviral drugs and vaccines, researchers said yesterday.
It is estimated that at least 50,000 people in the UK will die during a flu pandemic, which experts believe is inevitable.
Closing schools and providing antiviral drugs for families of those with flu could cut cases by half, it is claimed.
Furthermore, using a vaccine developed from the bird flu virus could reduce cases by two-thirds, according to scientists who used a computer to model the effects of a pandemic.
The UK?s action plan currently only urges antiviral treatment for people with flu and key workers. Vaccinations with pre-prepared jabs will only be available to key staff such as doctors and nurses under the plans.
Measures have been put in place to create a pandemic flu vaccine once the exact strain is established.
But researchers from Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States said that even if a pre-prepared vaccine was not perfectly matched to the pandemic strain, it could significantly reduce the numbers infected.
It is estimated that at least 50,000 people in the UK will die during a flu pandemic, which experts believe is inevitable.
Closing schools and providing antiviral drugs for families of those with flu could cut cases by half, it is claimed.
Furthermore, using a vaccine developed from the bird flu virus could reduce cases by two-thirds, according to scientists who used a computer to model the effects of a pandemic.
The UK?s action plan currently only urges antiviral treatment for people with flu and key workers. Vaccinations with pre-prepared jabs will only be available to key staff such as doctors and nurses under the plans.
Measures have been put in place to create a pandemic flu vaccine once the exact strain is established.
But researchers from Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States said that even if a pre-prepared vaccine was not perfectly matched to the pandemic strain, it could significantly reduce the numbers infected.
http://www.bnn-online.co.uk/