WHO Chief declares Swine Flu Speading with ‘Unprecedented Speed’
By Shirley S. Wang
July 16, 2009
The World Health Organization says it’s going to stop counting cases of the new H1N1 flu, according to a note posted on its website.
The virus is spreading with “unprecedented speedâ€, wrote the WHO. “At this point, further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries, is considered inevitable.â€
But countries need to continue to closely monitor “unusual events†like clusters of severe virus infections or unusual patterns of these serious cases. These signals might come from noticing an increase in the number of people staying home from work or school, or by an increase in emergency room visits.
On the H1N1 vaccine front, the WSJ notes that the manufacturing has been difficult. Novartis said that the yield is about 30% to 50% of what it normally gets for the seasonal flu vaccines, while Baxter told the WSJ that “yield optimization†— getting a lot of vaccine per batch — is a challenge.
Experts worry that the limited supply of vaccine will prompt a “global grabâ€, where countries will try to protect their own citizens first, according to ABC News. This could be an issue for the U.S., which makes only 20% of the flu vaccine it uses.
“There’s always a concern that when we have these international vaccine manufacturers that some of that vaccine for example might be embargoed or held back,†William Schaffner, chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center told ABC.
The CDC is hosting a call for reporters at noon Eastern time today. We’ll listen in and report back on the key points.
Update: The CDC said it expects an increase in the number of H1N1 flu cases in the fall and that vaccine production is on track. Anne Schuchat, Director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, downplayed concerns about a vaccine shortage or that U.S. may not get the supply it was promised by the five manufacturers it has contracted with to provide the vaccine. She also said that the CDC expects to update its guidance for institutions and physicians over the next several weeks.
*Image of flu-virus particle via CDC
No one should be surprised that the Swine Flu is spreading so quickly. In 1918, when it took a few months to travel the globe, the fastest mode of transportation was boat. Airplanes have made it a global problem almost overnight.
I think it is a terrible decision by the WHO to stop counting cases. We cannot measure how bad it really is and how transmissible the influenza is if no one is making any attempt whatsoever to track down how many cases we have.
Harlan Dolgin
Global Planning Group