H1N1 FLU BREAKING NEWS: Vaccine updates, drug resistance

Brazil prepares H1N1 shot campaign
The government of Brazil said Monday that it will launch "the largest campaign in the world" to vaccinate its citizens before the Southern Hemisphere flu season. Xinhua reported that the effort aims to give shots to 90 million Brazilians in a tiered campaign: health workers and indigenous citizens first, followed by pregnant women, young children, chronic-disease sufferers and young adults, and then the rest of the population.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-03/02/content_9524178.htm
Mar 2 Xinhua story

Earthquake aftermath halts vaccination in Chile
Widespread building damage and continuing power-supply interruptions have forced authorities to suspend H1N1 and routine vaccination campaigns in Chile following the Feb 27 8.8-magnitude quake there. New deliveries of H1N1 vaccine from outside the country have been postponed for at least a week, while authorities fear existing vaccine stocks have been ruined by electricity failures that interrupt the cold-chain keeping vaccines potent.
http://www.who.int/hac/crises/chl/chile_sitrep_paho_1march2010.pdf
Mar 1 Pan American Health Org update

Ireland records almost 1,000 reactions to H1N1 vaccine
An analysis of complaints to the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) reveals that there have been almost 1,000 reports of adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccine, the Irish Times reported today. Most of the reactions were injection-site swelling, gastrointestinal problems, and flu-like symptoms. In its most recent update, the IMB said it has no mechanism for separating true adverse reactions from coincidental events.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2010/0302/1224265425034.html
Mar 2 Irish Times story

H1N1 could develop drug-resistance patterns of seasonal flu
If pandemic H1N1 follows the same evolutionary pathway as seasonal H1N1 strains, it will likely develop the resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) that has become widespread in seasonal strains, Ohio State University researchers predict in the International Journal of Health Geographics. Reassortment between pandemic and seasonal strains in areas where they co-circulate, such as China, could speed the evolution of resistance, and antiviral use must be judicious, they say.
http://www.ij-healthgeographics.com/content/pdf/1476-072x-9-13.pdf
Feb 24 Int J Health Geogr article

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