(not sure if this is the right spot to post this)
Reported December 15, 2006
Flu Shot Beats Spray When Virus "Drifts"
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Can't decide whether to get the flu shot or the new nasal spray vaccine?
Opt for the shot. According to researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, it's more likely to protect against the flu in seasons when the actual flu strains "drift" away from those used to develop the vaccines.
The authors explain the flu vaccines are based on scientists' best guess as to which flu strains will dominate in any given flu season. But often, Mother Nature intervenes and the actual strains are a bit different from those included in the vaccines.
Researchers compared the effectiveness of the flu shot and the nasal spray in preventing influenza in the 2004-2005 flu season, when the strains did, indeed, drift from those used to develop the vaccines.
Results showed the shot was 75 percent effective. The nasal spray was only 48 percent effective.
The authors note the study only included adults, and the results could have been different in children. Why? The authors speculate it's because adults have already been exposed to a lot of flu viruses in their lifetimes, and thus the spray might not be able to infect their nasal passages and produce the necessary immune response. Children have had less exposure, so the spray might work better in them.
They also believe the spray would be useful in a pandemic flu, noting "the population would have no preexisting antibodies for the virus, and one dose of the vaccine would be expected to protect against it."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, 2006;355:2513-2522
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=15119
Reported December 15, 2006
Flu Shot Beats Spray When Virus "Drifts"
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Can't decide whether to get the flu shot or the new nasal spray vaccine?
Opt for the shot. According to researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, it's more likely to protect against the flu in seasons when the actual flu strains "drift" away from those used to develop the vaccines.
The authors explain the flu vaccines are based on scientists' best guess as to which flu strains will dominate in any given flu season. But often, Mother Nature intervenes and the actual strains are a bit different from those included in the vaccines.
Researchers compared the effectiveness of the flu shot and the nasal spray in preventing influenza in the 2004-2005 flu season, when the strains did, indeed, drift from those used to develop the vaccines.
Results showed the shot was 75 percent effective. The nasal spray was only 48 percent effective.
The authors note the study only included adults, and the results could have been different in children. Why? The authors speculate it's because adults have already been exposed to a lot of flu viruses in their lifetimes, and thus the spray might not be able to infect their nasal passages and produce the necessary immune response. Children have had less exposure, so the spray might work better in them.
They also believe the spray would be useful in a pandemic flu, noting "the population would have no preexisting antibodies for the virus, and one dose of the vaccine would be expected to protect against it."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, 2006;355:2513-2522
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=15119