Search: Swine flu vaccine to cost up to 20 dollars per dose: WHO

A woman is given a shot during trials of an H1N1 vaccine, developed by CSL of Australia, at the University of Iowa Health Center in August 2009 in Iowa City, Iowa. Countries can expect to pay between 2.50 and 20 dollars for a dose of swine flu vaccine depending on their ability to meet the costs,a WHO official said in remarks published Wednesday.
GENEVA (AFP) - - Countries can expect to pay between 2.50 and 20 dollars for a dose of swine flu vaccine depending on their ability to meet the costs, a WHO official said in remarks published Wednesday.

Marie-Paule Kieny, the head of vaccine research at the World Health Organisation, also warned that there would not be enough vaccines for the world's population and that people should not rely entirely on the vaccine.

Rather, they should take other preventive measures against the A(H1N1) virus, such as avoiding large gatherings, closing schools and observing personal hygiene.

"Coverage will be partial and not only in developing countries. But we should not be 'hypnotised' by vaccines," said Kieny in the interview published Wednesday in the WHO's Bulletin, a health journal.

"There are other measures, such as social distancing, school closure, avoidance of large gatherings, antibiotics and personal hygiene. This is not like rabies, which is 100 percent fatal: we are talking about a disease from which most people recover very well," she added.

Kieny reiterated that the WHO will help countries to get as much vaccine as possible, and that the wealthiest countries may have to pay up to 20 dollars.

"The industry will use tiered pricing, so high-income countries might pay between 10 and 20 dollars per dose, middle-income countries may pay about half that and low-income half that price again," she said.

"These are ballpark figures but this is the order of magnitude," she added.

Britain and France have received their first batches of swine flu vaccine in late August, as governments began to arm themselves against an expected second wave of the pandemic in the northern winter.

At least 2,185 people have died after contracting the swine flu virus which has overtaken other viruses to become the most prevalent flu strain. link....

Swine Flu

In the Health section's special report on swine flu last week, we posed some common questions to Andrew Pekosz, an associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. As readers submit further questions, he will continue to offer answers.
Rachel Saslow I got a swine flu vaccine in 1976. Am I protected from this strain?
No, you are not. The 1976 and 2009 H1N1 viruses are different, and the immune responses from the 1976 vaccine lasted only about a year.
What is the typical incubation period of swine flu?
This is difficult to estimate, but it appears that it takes one to three days for symptoms to develop after exposure to the virus. Remember that the most important thing is what you do after you feel the first symptoms: Stay home and limit your contact with people, practice good cough and sneeze hygiene (cough or sneeze into disposable tissues or your sleeve) and wash your hands and the surfaces you come in contact with frequently.
When will the vaccine be available?
As of now, it looks as though vaccination for high-risk groups will begin in mid- to late October. Once the high-risk groups have been immunized, vaccination of the general population will begin, most likely in November or early December. Announcements regarding when and where to get the vaccine will be made on a regular basis this fall, so pay close attention to your news sources for updated information.
Will the seasonal flu vaccine help protect me from H1N1?
The seasonal flu vaccine will not provide any significant protection against H1N1. However, we do expect to see some cases of seasonal influenza this year, and many of the high-risk populations for H1N1 vaccination (pregnant women, children, people with underlying medical conditions) as well as people over the age of 65 should get the seasonal vaccine in addition to the H1N1 vaccine.
My child has a severe egg allergy. Can he get the H1N1 vaccine?
All the influenza vaccines that will be administered this year consist of virus components generated from eggs, so if you have an egg allergy, you should not get either the seasonal flu vaccine or the H1N1 vaccine.
I'm 66 and in good health.
Do I need the vaccine, and
when should I get it?
As always, consult with your physician about specific medical advice. I would suggest you should get the seasonal flu vaccine, which is available now, since you are in one of the risk groups for getting severe disease from seasonal flu. Also, get the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available to your age group, which will not be at the beginning of the vaccination campaign but probably in November or December. link....

Swine flu looms over global economic recovery

Swine flu looms over global economic recovery

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Markets around the globe have started to celebrate the first signs of economic recovery, but experts have warned that a possible resurgent swine flu could still take a toll of productivity and financial systems.
First reported four months ago, the new A(H1N1) influenza virus spread by June into a global pandemic with some 1,800 deaths and now affects more than 170 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
Though the number of cases reported to WHO has topped 182,000, the United Nations health watchdog cautions the real number is higher because countries are no longer required to test and report individual cases.
Health officials are gearing up for a resurgence in cases as the northern hemisphere enters winter. So far swine flu infections generally have been relatively mild, with typical flu symptoms that last about a week.
However, the pandemic virus could mutate into a more deadly form. Officials are projecting a shortfall in vaccines being rushed to market in hopes of warding off a potential global health disaster.
Faced with the unpredictable nature of flu viruses, economists say it is difficult to assess the impact of swine flu on the delicate global economic recovery taking shape amid the worst world recession since World War II.
"As the severity of A(H1N1) is so far not severe, we would not expect the magnitude of the shock to the economy to be large relative to GDP (gross domestic product)," said Simonetta Nardin, a spokeswoman at the International Monetary Fund.
"The main threat to financial stability is the risk that high levels of absenteeism could lead to breakdowns in the functioning of key financial systems," she told AFP.
School closures would exacerbate absenteeism, further reducing workplace productivity.
Nardin said that the effects of swine flu on global financial stability and the world economy would be covered in future updates of the IMF's Global Financial Stability Report and World Economic Outlook (WEO), "as warranted by events."
World Bank experts have estimated the potential economic costs of a global influenza pandemic could range from 0.7 percent to 4.8 percent of global GDP depending on the severity of the outbreak.
The lower estimate was benchmarked on the Hong Kong flu of 1968-1969, while the upper bound was based on the devastating 1918-1919 Spanish flu, which infected an estimated one third of the world's population and is estimated to have caused 50 million or more deaths.
Based on the IMF estimate of 2009 global GDP of 54.863 trillion dollars, the swine flu pandemic, using the World Bank simulation, could cost the global economy between 384 billion dollars and 2.633 trillion dollars.
"In the case of a serious flu, 70 percent of the overall economic cost would come from absenteeism and efforts to avoid infection," World Bank experts wrote in the Global Development Finance report released in June.
"Generally speaking, developing countries would be hardest hit, because higher population densities, relatively weak health care systems, and poverty accentuate the economic impacts in some countries."
The swine flu virus was first identified in California in late April and officials linked the new virus to an outbreak of illnesses in Mexico.Mexico has borne the brunt of the economic costs of the pandemic, particularly in the transportation and tourism sectors.
"While we expect these effects to dissipate quickly following the peak of the epidemic in May, we estimate that the swine flu epidemic will have lowered GDP growth in Mexico on the order of 0.5 to 1.0 percent in 2009," an IMF official said, on condition of anonymity.
"These effects are already factored into our baseline outlook for growth in Mexico of negative 7.3 percent in 2009, as released in the July 2009 WEO," the official said. link....

Vaccine Testing On Track

Testing of the vaccine against the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus is on track and there have been "no red flags" for adverse effects, said Dr. Antonhy Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at a news conference today. The only observed problems have been some redness, swelling and soreness at the injection site -- the same as observed with seasonal flu and other vaccines. The first data on the immunogenicity of a single dose of the vaccine should be available by the middle of the September and data from two doses should be available a month later, he said.based on the lack of adverse effects in vaccination of the elderly, tests in children age 6 months to 17 years began Wednesday and Thursday, he said. Data from those trials should be available about two weeks after data from the first trials.
The United States expects to have 45 million to 52 million doses of the vaccine available by mid-October and as many as 195 million by the end of the year, said Dr. Jay Butler, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's H1N1 vaccine test force, in the same news conference. The vaccine will be distributed to the states on the basis of population, he said, and distribution will be coordinated in the same manner as the government's Vaccines for Children program -- although the program will have to enroll many more providers to ensure adequate distribution.
Butler said that there have so far been 7,963 hospitalizations and 522 deaths from laboratory-confirmed infections of pandemic H1N1 in the United States. About 75% of those hospitalized are under the age of 49, as are 60% of those who died. The current round of infection is slowing, he added, with only sporadic cases in all states except Alaska and Maine, which have widespread activity. "Reports of widespread influenza activity in August are very unusual," Butler noted, and emphasize how little is still known about the new virus. Officials believe there have been more than 1 million cases of swine flu in the United States to date.
Worldwide, nearly 1,800 people have died from complications of the virus, with more than 1,200 of them in Latin America, according to the World Health Organization. But flu activity is decreasing in the Southern Hemisphere, Butler said, as the conventional flu season winds down. Activity is also declining in the United Kingdom, which has had a severe outbreak of the virus, but is increasing in Japan -- for reasons that are not clear. A WHO official said earlier this week in China that there could be an "explosion" of new cases this fall with cases doubling every three to four days for several months. Fauci said that the U.S. should expect an upsurge in new cases this fall as children return to school, but Butler said that an explosion of new cases is a "worst case scenario. Whether it will occur, I don't think any of us know."
Agricultural officials in Chile said this week that pandemic H1N1 virus has been found in two flocks of turkeys and that the animals were quarantined and have fully recovered. Officials have been wary about such infections because of the risk that the pandemic H1N1 virus could recombine with the H5N1 avian flu virus, which is much more deadly but not as readily transmissible in humans. Such a recombinant could theoretically possess the easy transmission of the current swine flu virus with the lethality of the bird flu. It could also recombine with seasonal flu, which is resistant to antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu -- thereby limiting options for treating and preventing swine flu infections.
Butler noted, however, that the isolation of the virus from turkey "is not that surprising" because attributes of swine flu viruses help them infect turkeys. The virus was discovered because of a drop in egg production, not because turkeys were dying, and officials have seen no evidence of recombination. "The report did not raise any great concerns among us," he concluded. link....

What Is Swine Flu? How Is Swine Flu Treated?

Swine flu (swine influenza) is a disease of pigs. It is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by one of many Influenza A viruses. Approximately 1% to 4% of pigs that get swine flu die from it. It is spread among pigs by direct and indirect contact, aerosols, and from pigs that are infected but do not have symptoms. In many parts of the world pigs are vaccinated against swine flu. Most commonly, swine flu is of the H1N1 influenza subtype. However, they can sometimes come from the other types, such as H1N2, H3N1, and H3N2. The current outbreak of swine flu that has infected humans is of the H1N1 type - this type is not as dangerous as some others.
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) can also infect pigsAvian flu and human seasonal flu viruses can infect pigs, as well as swine influenza. The H3N2 influenza virus subtype, a virulent one, is thought to have come from pigs - it went on to infect humans. It is possible for pigs to be infected with more than one flu virus subtype simultaneously. When this happens the genes of the viruses have the opportunity to mingle. When different flu subtypes mix they can create a new virus which contains the genes from several sources - a reassortant virus.
Although swine influenza tends to just infect pigs, they can, and sometimes do, jump the species barrier and infect humans.
What is the risk for human health? Outbreaks of human infection from a virus which came from pigs (swine influenza) do happen and are sometimes reported. Symptoms will generally be similar to seasonal human influenzas - this can range from mild or no symptoms at all, to severe and possibly fatal pneumonia. As swine flu symptoms are similar to typical human seasonal flu symptoms, and other upper respiratory tract infections, detection of swine flu in humans often does not happen, and when it does it is usually purely by chance through seasonal influenza surveillance. If symptoms are mild it is extremely unlikely that any connection to swine influenza is found - even if it is there. In other words, unless the doctors and experts are specifically looking for swine flu, it is rarely detected. Because of this, we really do not know what the true human infection rate is.
Examples of known swine flu infecting humansSince the World Health Organization's (WHO's) implementation of IHR (2005) in 2007, they have been notified of swine influenza cases from the USA and Spain.In March/April 2009 human cases of influenza A swine fever (H1N1) were first reported in California and Texas. Later other states also reported cases. A significant number of human cases during the same period have also been reported in Mexico - starting just in Mexico City, but now throughout various parts of the country. More cases are being reported in Canada, Europe, and New Zealand - mainly from people who have been in Mexico.
How does a human catch swine influenza?
.From contact with infected pigs (most common way)
.From contact with infected humans (much less common way) In cases when humans have infected other humans close contact was necessary with the infected person, and they nearly always occurred in closed groups of people. Can I eat pork meat and pork products? If the pork meat and pork food products have been handled properly transmission of swine influenza to humans is not possible. Cooking pork meats to a temperature of 70C (160F) kills the virus. So the answer is YES, pork meat and pork food products are safe to eat. Where have pigs been infected? As swine influenza infection among pigs is not an internationally notifiable disease we cannot be completely sure. Swine influenza infection among pigs is known to be endemic in the USA. Outbreaks have also occurred in other parts of North America, South American, Europe, Africa, China, Japan, and other parts of Asia.
Is there a pandemic risk? People who are not in close contact with pigs generally have no immunity to the swine influenza viruses - they are less likely to be able to prevent a virus infection. If the virus infects enough people in a given area, the risk of an influenza pandemic is significantly greater. Experts say it is very hard to predict what impact a flu pandemic caused by a swine influenza virus would have on the global human population. This would depend on how virulent the virus is, what existing immunity among humans there already is, plus several other factors.
Do we have a specific swine flu vaccine? No - not for humans.
Will current human flu vaccines help protect people from swine influenza infection? We really don't know. Influenza viruses are adapting and changing all the time. If a vaccine was made, it would have to be specifically for a current strain that is circulating for it to be effective. The WHO says it needs access to as many viruses as possible so that it can isolate the most appropriate candidate vaccine.
What are the signs and symptoms of swine influenza in humans?They are similar to those of regular flu, and include:
.Body aches
.Chills
.Cough
.Diarrhea (less common)
.Headache
.Sore throat
.Temperature (fever)
.Tiredness (fatigue)
.Vomiting (less common)
What medications are there? There are some drugs around that can effectively treat swine flu infection in humans - and many types of flu infections in humans. There are two main types:
.adamantanes (amantadine and remantadine)
.inhibitors of influenza neuraminidase (oseltamivir and zanamivir) Most previous swine influenza human cases recovered completely without the need for medical attention.
What can I do to protect myself?
.Wash your hands regularly with soap
.Try to stay healthy
.Get plenty of sleep
.Do plenty of exercise
.Try to manage your stress
.Drink plenty of liquids
.Eat a well balanced diet
.Refrain from touching surfaces which may have the virus
.Do not get close to people who are sick
.Stay away from crowded areas if there is a swine flu outbreak in your area
If I am infected, how can I stop others from becoming infected?
.Limit your contact with other people
.Do not go to work or school
.When you cough or sneeze cover your mouth with a tissue. If you do not have a tissue, cover your mouth and nose.
.Put your used tissues in a waste basket
.Wash your hands and face regularly
.Keep all surfaces you have touched clean
.Follow your doctor's instructions
Mexico City - Some good newsIn Mexico City, where a sizeable number of people have become infected with H1N1 swine flu, authorities are urging people with flu symptoms to go straight to their doctors or a local hospital. They insist that the flu is completely treatable if the patient comes in straight away.
What is Swine Flu
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Influenza Division has produced a video all about swine flu. This video includes information on the signs and symptoms of swine flu, how swine flu is transmitted, what medicines are available to treat it and steps that people can take to help protect themselves from it. There are also some tips on what to do if you become ill with swine flu.
Map of Swine Flu OutbreaksIf you would like to keep up-to-date with the locations of the latest outbreaks of H1N1, see the map of swine flu outbreaks. link....