Saturday, July 4, 2009

H1N1 update: Australia/Hong Kong/US

While CDC has not committed to a strategy beyond Tamiflu (to which some viral strains in Hong Kong have resistance), Australia faces a major H1N1 outbreak, as the southern hemisphere winter just began. But mathematical modelling suggests the US has already experienced 1 million H1N1 cases.

On May 17, Australia moved to a new national health alert level, called “protect,” to focus on the early treatment of those vulnerable to [severe illness from] the flu, including pregnant women, people with respiratory disease, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. And on July 2, Australia's Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, reassured parents that swine flu does not pose a greater danger to children than seasonal flu.

Separately, Sydney immunisation specialist Robert Booy said swine flu was likely to kill twice as many children over the next 12 months as regular influenza. The professor estimated 10-12 children could die from the virus, compared with five or six from normal flu strains in a typical year.


In the US, normally under 100 children die each year as a result of seasonal influenza infections. To prevent an estimated 100 excess deaths (this is a very rough estimate), up to 75 million children might receive a vaccine containing novel adjuvants, for which testing was limited.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dr. Nass, I have truly valued your website and blog as being very realiable sources of information.

That why I am asking you if you have an opinion on what is being said by Jane Burgermeister in Austria about the swine flu vaccine.

Krolson

Meryl Nass, M.D. said...

I do not have an opinion. I do not know enough about the avian flu contamination to pontificate on whether it might have been deliberate.

Meryl

Anonymous said...

I am very disturbed by what Burgermeister charged because it dovetails with concerns I had previous to hearing about the case - the government purchasing and storing millions of coffins and setting up FEMA camps around the country. Can you give your opinion on mandatory vaccinations? How is this any different from forced human experiments since the vaccines won't be tested? Why isn't the medical community outraged at this stripping away of our human rights in the name of health?

Anonymous said...

How many children in the US would die if they didn't already get the yearly Flu vaccine? There is no way to know the number, but I'd bet its more than 100.

Meryl Nass, M.D. said...

See the following article:

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1847794,00.html

The data indicate that children under 5 vaccinated for flu do not have fewer episodes of flu or fewer hospitalizations.

Meryl