ECDC says poultry H7N9 circulation poses ongoing threat
In an epidemiologic assessment today, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that H7N9 avian flu in China continues to pose a significant health risk.
The assessment takes into account 12 new H7N9 cases that have been reported since October. Ten of them were in the previously affected provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang, and two were imported cases from the mainland that were detected in Hong Kong.
Most patients have had severe disease, and of 147 cases so far, 47 deaths have been reported, putting the case-fatality ratio at 32%, the ECDC said. The average age of the patients is 60 years, and 98 of the patients (67%) have been male. (The genders are unknown for five of the patients.)
A few small clusters have been detected, but most cases have been sporadic with no obvious epidemiologic links. The ECDC said most of the case-patients had contact with poultry from live-bird markets, and that the most likely scenario is that zoonotic influenza is spreading in east China poultry.
The ECDC said that if the virus persists in poultry, it poses a significant long-term threat to humans as a zoonotic virus or maybe a pandemic strain. It urged travelers to avoid live-bird markets and urges health officials to maintain their preparedness against the disease.
Dec 20 ECDC epidemiologic update
BioCryst seeks US approval for flu drug peramivir
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced today it has filed for US approval of its intravenous (IV) influenza drug peramivir, a neuraminidase inhibitor that was used on an emergency basis during the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic.
The announcement comes a little more than a year after the company signaled that it would probably give up its quest for US licensing in the wake of a discouraging interim analysis of phase 3 trial results.
Today the company said it met with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June and reached agreement on all the requirements for its license application, which includes results in more than 2,700 patients treated with peramivir in 27 clinical trials.
"We are excited about the potential approval of peramivir as an IV treatment option that could benefit influenza patients in the United States," said Jon P. Stonehouse, BioCryst president and chief executive officer, in the company release. "BioCryst is preparing to make peramivir available in the US in time for the 2014-15 influenza season, in the event approval is received in that timeframe."
The drug was developed under contracts with the US Department of Health and Human Services worth $234.8 million.
The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for peramivir in October 2009 so it could be given to severely ill H1N1 flu patients who needed an IV antiviral. Last year federal officials estimated that 1,274 patients were treated with the drug during the pandemic period.
Peramivir was licensed in Japan and South Korea in 2010, the BioCryst release noted.
Dec 20 BioCryst press release
Related Nov 9, 2012, CIDRAP News story
Apr 6, 2012, CIDRAP News story on peramivir use during pandemic