Swine Flu Watch: UK’s vaccination for all; 30% infection rate anticipated; 1918 survivors’ immunity
>>U.K. Plans Massive Swine-Flu Vaccination
The medical establishment in Britain, the nation hardest hit by swine flu outside North America, is scrambling to roll out a large-scale vaccination program in an effort to protect its population against a virus that threatens to spread rapidly here in coming weeks.
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The number of cases in the U.K. is several times greater than in any other European country. Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading, says the U.K. has been hit hard because many Britons were traveling to Mexico and the U.S. when the virus first appeared there.
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The country has ordered enough vaccine to cover all 60 million of its residents. The government plans to offer everyone free shots as soon as they become available”.
Full Article: here.
>>Swine flu in winter ‘for a third’
A third of the population may catch swine flu this winter and the virus could be here for up to five years, the government’s medical chief has warned.
But Sir Liam Donaldson told the BBC the deaths of people with no apparent health problems did not mean the virus was becoming more severe.
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Sir Liam, who is chief medical officer for England, said it was “too early to say” whether a mortality rate of one in 200 – as suggested by some experts – was accurate.
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Between 30 to 35% of people could come down with the virus this winter, he said. The disease was also likely to strike again in the years that followed.
Full Article: here.
Study: 1918 flu survivors seem immune to swine flu
The way swine flu multiplies in the respiratory system is more severe than ordinary winter flu, a new study in animals finds.
Tests in monkeys, mice and ferrets show that the swine flu thrives in greater numbers all over the respiratory system, including the lungs, and causes lesions, instead of staying in the nose and throat like seasonal flu.
In addition, blood tests show that many people who were born before the 1918 flu pandemic seem to have immunity to the current swine flu, but not to the seasonal flu that hits every year.
Full Article: here.
