Mild U.S. Flu Cases May Exceed Official Tally

[Captain Trips]

Mild U.S. Flu Cases May Exceed Official Tally
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/16/health/16influenza.html?hp

QUOTE:

"The real number of swine flu cases in the United States could be ?upwards of 100,000,? a top public health official estimated on Friday ? far higher than the official count of 7,415 cases confirmed by laboratories.

The official, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, head of flu epidemiology for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news conference that the official number gave an inaccurate picture of the outbreak because so few mildly sick people were being tested.

He added that flu was more prevalent than usual, ?something we would not normally expect at this time of year.? But he emphasized that most cases were mild. There have been 173 hospitalizations and 5 deaths reported to the agency."

...and...

"Glaxo will add an adjuvant, a chemical compound that jolts the immune system into a stronger reaction than the seed stock virus alone does. Glaxo said it would not have to interrupt its run of seasonal flu vaccine, which is scheduled to finish in July."

Question for anyone who cares to answer:

Why would anyone ADD any substance to a vaccine to get a STRONGER reaction from the immune system?

During the 1918 Pandemic the victim's immune system basically went into overdrive (cytoplasmic storm) to kill the viral infection but ended up killing the patient because of a massive fluid buildup in the lungs.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Re: Mild U.S. Flu Cases May Exceed Official Tally

Answer: to cut down on the amount of vaccine required to achieve immunity. Is some cases, two doses are required over a time period of a couple of weeks to a month. If the potency of the vaccine can be increased, that means more doses can be 'delivered' with less vaccine.

Sloppy laymans' language regards,

Snick

 

[Skatman]

Re: Mild U.S. Flu Cases May Exceed Official Tally

I would assume "hopefully" this will be tested before they use it.

Has anything like this ever been used in a vaccine before?

 

[Captain Trips]

Re: Mild U.S. Flu Cases May Exceed Official Tally

Apparently, they've been used for quite a while, but....

New-Age Vaccine Adjuvants: Friend or Foe?
http://biopharminternational.findpharma.com/biopharm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=444996

QUOTE:

"A major bottleneck in vaccine development is the lack of suitable adjuvants for adult and pediatric prophylactic vaccine use. Aluminum salts were introduced for human use in the 1930s when the regulatory environment was less stringent. The desire for new and improved adjuvants stems not only from the need to make existing inactivated vaccines more potent, but also to gain features such as antigen-sparing ability, more rapid seroprotection, stimulation of T-cell immunity, and longer-lasting protective immunity. Significant regulatory and other hurdles exist for developing new adjuvants, as evidenced by the complete absence of new FDA-approved adjuvants."

Why am I not reassured by this article?

 

[Farmer]

Re: Mild U.S. Flu Cases May Exceed Official Tally

I would assume "hopefully" this will be tested before they use it.

Has anything like this ever been used in a vaccine before?

Adjuvants are are routinely used in vaccines.

Sometimes they are essential, even if the antigen is plentiful, as an adjuvant may be needed to allow the antigen to be recognized by the immune system.