Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-persp...an-mar-09-2017
Flu Scan for Mar 09, 2017
More H5N1 in Vietnam; FDA flu vaccine strain selection
Filed Under:
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu); Influenza Vaccines
H5N1 strikes 2 more Vietnamese provinces as Romania notes H5N8
Vietnam today reported two more highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu outbreaks, raising the number of affected provinces this year to seven, according to a report from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The outbreaks struck backyard birds in Bac Ninh province in the north and Tay Ninh in the south. Both events began on Mar 3, and taken together, the virus killed 2,050 of 6,600 susceptible poultry. The surviving bird were culled, with other response steps taken, including vaccination, disinfection of the affected premises, and stepped-up surveillance.
Elsewhere, Romania reported five more highly pathogenic H5N8 outbreaks in wild birds, officials said in a separate report to the OIE. The events began from Feb 26 to Mar 8, affecting whooper swans, mallards, and a gull found dead. In two instances, the birds were found in Bucharest, the country's capital. The other outbreaks occurred in various locations in Neamt County.
Mar 9 OIE report on H5N1 in Vietnam
Mar 9 OIE report on H5N8 in Romania
FDA panel endorses WHO selections for 2017-18 flu vaccine
A US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel today voted to approve the World Health Organization's (WHO's) recommended influenza strains for inclusion in next season's Northern Hemisphere flu vaccines. The meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) was streamed live today over the Web.
The experts approved the WHO's recommendations to include the following trivalent vaccine strains for companies that will make flu vaccine for the next US flu season: A/Michigan/45/2015 2009 H1N1-like virus, A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 H3N2-like virus, and B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus from the Victoria lineage. For quadrivalent vaccines, they recommended adding B/Phuket/2073/2013-like virus for the Yamagata lineage.
The group's main discussion point centered on whether to go with the WHO's trivalent B-strain recommendation, after hearing from experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that dominant lineages have varied in the United States in the current flu season, even from week to week and from region to region. But in the end, they settled on the WHO's recommendation, given the lack of a clear pattern in the United States and considerations for streamlining the flu vaccine production process.
The WHO recommended the Northern Hemisphere strains on Mar 2, which signaled a switch to a different 2009 H1N1 vaccine strain. The recommended strains mirror the ones for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere flu season.
Mar 9 VRBPAC agenda
Flu Scan for Mar 09, 2017
More H5N1 in Vietnam; FDA flu vaccine strain selection
Filed Under:
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu); Influenza Vaccines
H5N1 strikes 2 more Vietnamese provinces as Romania notes H5N8
Vietnam today reported two more highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu outbreaks, raising the number of affected provinces this year to seven, according to a report from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The outbreaks struck backyard birds in Bac Ninh province in the north and Tay Ninh in the south. Both events began on Mar 3, and taken together, the virus killed 2,050 of 6,600 susceptible poultry. The surviving bird were culled, with other response steps taken, including vaccination, disinfection of the affected premises, and stepped-up surveillance.
Elsewhere, Romania reported five more highly pathogenic H5N8 outbreaks in wild birds, officials said in a separate report to the OIE. The events began from Feb 26 to Mar 8, affecting whooper swans, mallards, and a gull found dead. In two instances, the birds were found in Bucharest, the country's capital. The other outbreaks occurred in various locations in Neamt County.
Mar 9 OIE report on H5N1 in Vietnam
Mar 9 OIE report on H5N8 in Romania
FDA panel endorses WHO selections for 2017-18 flu vaccine
A US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel today voted to approve the World Health Organization's (WHO's) recommended influenza strains for inclusion in next season's Northern Hemisphere flu vaccines. The meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) was streamed live today over the Web.
The experts approved the WHO's recommendations to include the following trivalent vaccine strains for companies that will make flu vaccine for the next US flu season: A/Michigan/45/2015 2009 H1N1-like virus, A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 H3N2-like virus, and B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus from the Victoria lineage. For quadrivalent vaccines, they recommended adding B/Phuket/2073/2013-like virus for the Yamagata lineage.
The group's main discussion point centered on whether to go with the WHO's trivalent B-strain recommendation, after hearing from experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that dominant lineages have varied in the United States in the current flu season, even from week to week and from region to region. But in the end, they settled on the WHO's recommendation, given the lack of a clear pattern in the United States and considerations for streamlining the flu vaccine production process.
The WHO recommended the Northern Hemisphere strains on Mar 2, which signaled a switch to a different 2009 H1N1 vaccine strain. The recommended strains mirror the ones for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere flu season.
Mar 9 VRBPAC agenda