Roehl_JC
Moderator
Amanda Cameron
acameron@nzdoctor.co.nz
Tuesday 20 April 2010, 3:42pm
The Ministry of Health has changed its antiviral policy in advance of the 2010 flu season
Certain general practices and pharmacies will be responsible for dishing out free antivirals to people who succumb to flu this winter.
The Ministry of Health says it has made the change to its antiviral policy so that people with a prescription for Tamiflu (oseltamivir) or Relenza (zanamivir) can get hold of the drugs more quickly this year.
For example, a practice in a small town without a pharmacy would hold stocks of the antivirals so patients wouldn't have to drive to another town to fill their prescription, the ministry's director of emergency management, Steve Brazier, told New Zealand Doctor this morning.
Mr Brazier said he did not know how many practices and pharmacies had been selected to act as dispensaries for ministry supplies of antivirals, but that those involved had been told and were already holding supplies.
However, GP Martin London, whose his patients are spread along a 250km stretch of the South Island's remote west coast, said he was not aware of any such arrangement.
"As far as I'm aware, we haven't had that discussion in South Westland," Dr London says.
Influenza season about to start
The ministry expects an early start to the influenza season, following an early start in the northern hemisphere, with the number of cases expected to start rising over the next couple of weeks.
However, as in the northern hemisphere, the rise is expected to be more gradual than last year and fewer cases are expected overall.
This is partly due to the proportion of the community exposed to the H1N1 pandemic strain last year, estimated from overseas and local data at around 30 per cent, according to Christchurch virologist Lance Jennings.
Like last year, the H1N1 strain is expected to predominate this influenza season.
Mr Brazier says there have been one or two cases of H1N1 so far this year, one of them his own daughter, but that these originated offshore.
Vaccine supply warning
Meanwhile, primary care has been warned by the ministry that the volcanic eruption in Iceland that has disrupted air traffic in Europe may interrupt New Zealand's supply of seasonal flu vaccine over the next week or so.
The ministry is currently reviewing the situation and is working with primary care providers to ensure they are kept up to date as the situation evolves, according to a media release issued this morning.
The seasonal flu vaccine is produced in (and distributed from) Paris, France.
More than 772,000 doses of flu vaccine have been distributed so far this season - more than the entire 2008 flu season and 17 per cent more than the number of doses delivered by this time last year.
Nearly 70,000 doses of the monovalent H1N1 vaccine Celvapan have been distributed, compared with the 300,000 the ministry had in stock.
Influenza-like illness consultations still below baseline
Latest ministry figures show there were only about 25 consultations for influenza-like illness (ILI) per 100,000 patients in the week to 4 April, a level considered below baseline.
Since the influenza pandemic began in April 2009, almost all countries have experienced outbreaks and over 17,480 laboratory-confirmed deaths have been reported worldwide.
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/news/2010/april-2010/20/easier-access-to-antivirals-this-flu-season.aspx
acameron@nzdoctor.co.nz
Tuesday 20 April 2010, 3:42pm
The Ministry of Health has changed its antiviral policy in advance of the 2010 flu season
Certain general practices and pharmacies will be responsible for dishing out free antivirals to people who succumb to flu this winter.
The Ministry of Health says it has made the change to its antiviral policy so that people with a prescription for Tamiflu (oseltamivir) or Relenza (zanamivir) can get hold of the drugs more quickly this year.
For example, a practice in a small town without a pharmacy would hold stocks of the antivirals so patients wouldn't have to drive to another town to fill their prescription, the ministry's director of emergency management, Steve Brazier, told New Zealand Doctor this morning.
Mr Brazier said he did not know how many practices and pharmacies had been selected to act as dispensaries for ministry supplies of antivirals, but that those involved had been told and were already holding supplies.
However, GP Martin London, whose his patients are spread along a 250km stretch of the South Island's remote west coast, said he was not aware of any such arrangement.
"As far as I'm aware, we haven't had that discussion in South Westland," Dr London says.
Influenza season about to start
The ministry expects an early start to the influenza season, following an early start in the northern hemisphere, with the number of cases expected to start rising over the next couple of weeks.
However, as in the northern hemisphere, the rise is expected to be more gradual than last year and fewer cases are expected overall.
This is partly due to the proportion of the community exposed to the H1N1 pandemic strain last year, estimated from overseas and local data at around 30 per cent, according to Christchurch virologist Lance Jennings.
Like last year, the H1N1 strain is expected to predominate this influenza season.
Mr Brazier says there have been one or two cases of H1N1 so far this year, one of them his own daughter, but that these originated offshore.
Vaccine supply warning
Meanwhile, primary care has been warned by the ministry that the volcanic eruption in Iceland that has disrupted air traffic in Europe may interrupt New Zealand's supply of seasonal flu vaccine over the next week or so.
The ministry is currently reviewing the situation and is working with primary care providers to ensure they are kept up to date as the situation evolves, according to a media release issued this morning.
The seasonal flu vaccine is produced in (and distributed from) Paris, France.
More than 772,000 doses of flu vaccine have been distributed so far this season - more than the entire 2008 flu season and 17 per cent more than the number of doses delivered by this time last year.
Nearly 70,000 doses of the monovalent H1N1 vaccine Celvapan have been distributed, compared with the 300,000 the ministry had in stock.
Influenza-like illness consultations still below baseline
Latest ministry figures show there were only about 25 consultations for influenza-like illness (ILI) per 100,000 patients in the week to 4 April, a level considered below baseline.
Since the influenza pandemic began in April 2009, almost all countries have experienced outbreaks and over 17,480 laboratory-confirmed deaths have been reported worldwide.
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/news/2010/april-2010/20/easier-access-to-antivirals-this-flu-season.aspx