Avian Flu Surveillance Project

Thank you for this and please put me ON the ping list svp.

Judith Anne I posted this story separately but since I dont know how to 'link' to other articles here I'm going to repost the news story here since it may be relevant to your point...hope that is ok.

Experts mull possibility of vaccine protection against pandemic flu strains
CP ^ | 24/04/2005 3:48:00 PM | Canadian Press

Posted on 04/27/2005 11:53:34 AM EDT by FYREDEUS

TORONTO (CP) - When the next influenza pandemic hits, vaccine will be the key defence for countries that can afford it. But there will be inevitable if agonizing months between the emergence of a pandemic strain and the point when vaccine is ready to be plunged into arms.

Some influenza experts, though, have started to debate whether it's really necessary to wait for a pandemic to ignite before moving to protect people against virus subtypes on flu watchers' Most Feared list.

Wracked by concerns the world might be watching the unfolding of a pandemic, they are searching for out-of-the-box solutions to reduce the devastation to human health and the global economy that one would wreak.

Dr. Jesse Goodman is among those mulling over the notion of trying to create some population immunity to threatening flu strains during interpandemic times.

The idea is still "very exploratory," admits Goodman, director of the Food and Drug Administration's centre for biologics evaluation and research, which regulates vaccine production and sales in the United States.

"I think there is an opportunity to think about: Can we prepare and provide some protection not in a crisis mode, but more ahead of time? Ahead-of-the-curve kind of mode," he suggested in a recent interview from Washington.

"I think this is a strategy worth considerable thought and discussion. . . . (But) it's not something one would just do without a lot of thought and evaluation."

The idea would most likely entail adding a fourth component to the annual flu shot, which currently protects against the three flu strains - two influenza A and one influenza B - experts predict will be dominant in the coming flu season.

Adding a fourth strain could awaken or prime the immune system to viruses it's never seen before. Like the H5N1 strain smouldering in Southeast Asia. Or the H7N3 strain behind British Columbia's 2004 avian flu outbreak. Or H2N2, the 1957 pandemic strain recently sent in unlabelled vials to more than 5,000 labs around the world.

(While the flu world fears H5N1's lethality, some experts argue H2N2 is the top contender for the next pandemic strain because of its proven ability to infect and spread among humans.)

It is widely believed people would need at least two shots - a primer and one or two boosters - to get good protection against a flu strain their immune systems has never battled.

This idea would see a generic primer to H5N1 or H2N2 delivered well in advance of need. Once a pandemic starts and a vaccine targeting the specific strain is produced, the booster or boosters would be administered. If a large segment of the population was pre-primed, vaccine production time could be cut dramatically.

University of Ottawa flu expert Dr. Earl Brown says the approach could give pre-vaccinated people "a leg up."

"It has some merit in that you should have some (protective) advantage," Brown says, adding that even without the booster shot, people who'd been primed might have some protection. "Maybe some people wouldn't get as severely diseased."

The head of the World Health Organization's global influenza program also sees the theoretical appeal of the notion.

"Logistically, it could make sense that during ... peace times like now you vaccine everybody and then when it comes to mass vaccination needs . . . you'd only need to apply one dose," says Dr. Klaus Stohr.

But Stohr is also quick to point out what might be the single biggest impediment to the idea - the issue of liability. While flu shots are considered to be among the safest medical interventions available to public health, no vaccine or drug is risk-free.

The flu community knows that too well, having learned the lesson the hard way during from the swine flu debacle. In the spring of 1976, four U.S. Army recruits fell ill with what was discovered to be a swine flu similar to the 1918 strain that caused the worst infectious disease outbreak in recorded history, the pandemic know as the Spanish Flu.

Fearing the 1918 virus was readying itself for a new assault, the U.S. government mounted a mass vaccination campaign aimed at protecting every American.

Swine flu never took off, but another health threat did - Guillain-Barre syndrome.

A small but significant number of people who got the swine flu shot developed the potentially fatal neurological condition, resulting in major lawsuits. To this day, the rare syndrome remains linked to influenza vaccination, though only one study has shown an association and then only at the rate of one case per million people vaccinated.

Still, swine flu instantly comes to mind when the flu community starts discussing the ethics and liability concerns raised by the notion of vaccinating people against a theoretical risk.

"The bar does rise," Brown admits.

"If you vaccinate your whole country, you've got to be concerned that everybody for the next two or three months is going to blame whatever bad happens on the vaccine."

Vaccine expert Dr. John Treanor sees other problems as well. Treanor thinks pre-priming might actually work, though it would need to be proved through testing.

But he says with current flu vaccine production limitations - old technology, capacity to make vaccine for only a fraction of the world's populace - "it's probably not going to fly.

"It's been quite difficult just to make the regular vaccine. Add another component, it just makes it that much harder. It might make it so hard it couldn't be done," says Treanor, director of the vaccine treatment and evaluation unit at the University of Rochester, one of three centres testing an experimental H5N1 vaccine for the U.S. government.

Stohr points out another issue. Pre-priming, if it worked, is only really an option for affluent countries.

"We must also not forget that we are talking about a privileged part of the population. Those who can already afford the seasonal vaccine would have access to it. And the others would again draw the short straw."

Goodman knows all these arguments, but feels the notion is still worth exploring.

"It needs a careful discussion" he says.

"But in the long run, if you really do think about it more optimistically, what you realize is that with good surveillance systems we do have the possibility of knowing what are potential pandemic threats and thinking about these kinds of strategies."

Add me to the ping list.

S.Korea Suspects North's Bird Flu Outbreak Extensive

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1372958/posts

Mar 29, 2005

Good article thanks

Glad you liked it...I would have pinged you to it back then but dont know how to do that either...the Help article here isnt entirely helpful with how to do such things, unless perhaps its a 'do it in HTML' thing. I'm even less [read that UN]skilled at HTML than typing...and you know how sloooow I am with that lol.

LOL take a web tutorial that has sample code this is a good one I use ( I am no expert either):

Visit Dave's Site! Scroll down to find the links that are relevant to your need. :-)

Merci Beaucoup :-)

Don't know if its related or simply hayfever, but out in SoCA right now, seems like everybody I know has had some sort of ailment on the par of a light flu.

Starts with exposure to somebody who has it, remains dormant for 3-8 days, then slight itching in throat for about a day, following day some sinus drainage is noticed and associated with phlegm in the throat/lungs. About the second day a cough develops that becomes somewhat trademark of the ailment. Cough is to remove phlegm in slight amounts, but very concentrated from mid chest area, high lungs. end of second day to third day is worst, mainly due to sore throat from repeated coughing and one might hear or feel the inhale associated with some phlegm in the airway. 4th and fifth day the symptoms lesson, although some seem to have a persistent cough for about 3 weeks in lessening degrees.

Slight fever of maybe 1 degree might accompany for about 12 hours within the first 72 hrs.

The good news: It's not serious enough to go to the doctor over and is sort of like a light hayfever, except with heavier small quantities of phlegm. Rest of misery is probably more due to secondary sinus symptoms and the lingering periodic deep cough.

Bad news: One becomes drowsy easily, sleep tends to allow sinus drainage which accentuates the effects. I know of at least one mother who took her 6 month old into the hospital for pneumonia from the effects.

Not much in the news about this one, but unlike all other flus I've seen in the last say 10-15 years, this one seems to hit everybody, delayed by as much as a week, and not really accompanied by nausea or high fever. Accordingly it isn't considered that serious in the initial stages.

Then again, maybe its just hayfever with a high pollen count and change of outside ambient temperatures.

I was curious if there hadn't been some sort of airborne mass anthrax inoculation, but haven't seen anything of it in the news or conspiracy theory websites.

FWIW the sampling of persons I know who have had this in varying degrees is about 12 of 15 for those within daily close proximity (within 1-2 meters or in a confined space-car) for more than 5 minutes, about 30 of 60 for those within passing proximity (1-5 meters separation) for anywhere of 10 seconds to 30 minutes and about 50-70% of those outside my direct area of association, but cognizant via others. Of this set, at least one had returned from Cambodia about 4 months ago, one had been recuperating from a double bypass heart surgery and believed it was symptoms from his recovery, and four others associated it with being passed by family members.

For these reasons, it might simply be due to other common factors (aka hayfever) or perhaps some association between them exist. Don't know. But I'd count on productivity being down by 1-3 mandays over a 3 month period.

FWIW, the week preceding the symptoms, I had noticeable degrees of exhaustion,...not to the point of nausea or fever, but dehydration, and unusual drowsiness after high stress working periods.

Over the past couple of months I just attributed these symptoms to being an innocent bystander of others getting some hayfever. Now that I actually count the numbers, and those who have gotten this 'bug' known for never getting sick, I'm not so sure it isn't a slight flu epidemic.

/offcolor humor attempt on

Then again, there was that funny looking chunk of hairy meteorite we passed amongst office co-workers about a week ago...

/offcolor humor attempt between coughing episodes off

Seems whatever flu is travaling thru Southeast Asia, it likes kids the most.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/27/content_2882509.htm

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1102486.cms

http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=6087

Okay, you're on the flu list.

Uh oh,

Thanks, :0)

Watch for fever, aches and pains, a stuffy nose and a cough. ;-D

LOL!

Thanks for the article links.

I agree, kids are getting it first.

somehow doesn't spread very fast in Asia and doesn't hop continents.

Airbus and Boeing are the Kitchenaid mixers of continental virii.

bump

Watch out for plants which say "feed me!"...

/levity

That should read "neuraminidase" sorry for being trivial but if anyone is reading this and wants to learn more on the subject by searching the net the typo will be prohibitive.

Both words were Greek to me. The great thing about FR is we have experts on virtually every topic. Everyone has their specialty, and is usually willing to provide a usuable explanation for the non-experts in the field.

That's why these threads, and many others, are so useful.