`Get vaccinated against H1N1`

When it comes down to the H1N1 flu, the director for the International Vaccine Institute strongly suggests that everyone get vaccinated.

"I would say, don`t worry, go get your shot," said IVI`s Director General Dr. John Clemens.

It`s true there has been discussion in the media over the effectiveness of the vaccine but by not getting vaccinated, people do "so at their own peril."

Clemens explained that this pandemic has stimulated a fair amount of innovation in the creation of vaccines, particularly with respect to what are called adjuvants, which are additional molecules in the vaccines that enhance the ability of the vaccine to cause an immune response.

"But to date, there are no worrisome indications that these vaccines cause more side effects than the ordinary flu vaccine, without a doubt, vaccines are the best way for individuals and for societies to brace against the pandemic," he said.

Some have said that labeling this virus a pandemic conjures up visions of death and decay generally portrayed in Hollywood films but Clemens said that it is not the case.



"Pandemic is a useful term from a societal perspective," he said. "There are a lot of preparations in terms of stockpiling vaccines, antivirals, implementing social distancing measures and increasing beds in hospitals."

In this case, Clemens said that this pandemic does not appear to be particularly "severe but it could have been."

Still, many families worry about the vaccine and its effectiveness.

Search engines are visited daily with concerned parents looking for answers to the current tough question, "should I vaccinate my child or not?"

Clemens offers four factors that he hopes will ease people`s fears.

First of all, vaccines and becoming increasingly available.

Next, "if you are unfortunate enough to come down with this bug, it, to date, has in general, not caused severe clinical illness in the vast majority of people who get it."

The third factor is that the medical community has antiviral medicine in its toolbox to treat this virus.

"It`s not a curative drug, but it does tend to shorten the illness and make it milder," he noted.

The fourth important factor is that health care systems in developed countries like Korea and the United States for example, are geared up to handle these cases should they become severe.

"So there is no reason for panic."

One antiviral medicine that has now become famous is Tamilflu, which is used for flu treatment and flu prevention in adults and children.

"It is good when it`s administered soon enough," he said. Which is "within the first couple days for it to be effective."

Clemens did mention another drug called Relenza that appears to have activity against this virus. Relenza is the same class of drug but not as popular.

"The concern of course with both antivirals and antibiotics is that with sufficiently wide spread use, the virus will find a way to become resistant, particularly for flu viruses," he warned.

"It`s not that the drug should not be used but rather, used judiciously and I think the worry is that it will not be used judiciously," he said.

There is a small percentage of these viral strains that are resistant to Tamilflu "but it`s quite uncommon so far, the concern is that if the drug is not used judiciously then it will become a problem."

Now that the northern hemisphere has entered the flu season, there is the question of which flu a person has when they start to feel sick.

The only real way to find out if someone has come down with the H1N1 flu or the regular seasonal flu is to get tested, Clemens suggested.

Symptoms for both H1N1 and the seasonal flu are virtually identical.

One interesting development in this H1N1 flu scare is that it has virtually out-competed the seasonal flu.

"But this is very characteristic of pandemics," Clemens said.

The difference right now is that the seasonal flu prays on the elderly and those with underlying illnesses, while the H1N1 flu goes after the young.

Healthy adults between these two groups are relatively safe, said Clemens. Reason being, healthy adults have seen similar viruses in their lives so they have some degree of partial immunity.

"So that makes it more dramatic when you have young people getting ill," Clemens noted.

The death rate from the pandemic H1N1 flu is likely lower than earlier estimates, said Dr. Marc Lipsitch, an expert in infectious diseases at Harvard University.

Both the seasonal flu and H1N1 have a death rate less than 0.1 percent according to the Pandemic Severity Index set by the U.S. government.

Lipsitch echoes Clemens by saying that the seasonal flu is usually far worse among the elderly, who make up 90 percent of the deaths every year.

Lipsitch said, "In contrast, this flu is attacking younger adults and older children, but they are not dying of it at the same rate as the elderly."

The IVI was established as an initiative of the United Nations Development Program in 1997 and operates under a treaty signed by 40 countries and the World Health Organization.

Based in Seoul, the IVI is an international organization devoted to new vaccines primarily for children.

To date, the IVI has developed improved vaccinations against Shigella dysentery, or bloody diarrhea, which is a cause of about 600,000 deaths a year in children.

"We have also developed the world`s first low cost cholera vaccine that was recently licensed in India," said Clemens. "Our goal is to develop affordable vaccines."

Clemens also said that the IVI has become a world leader in a novel way of vaccinating, under the tongue.

"It turns out to be an extremely potent way of vaccinating against respiratory infections like the flu or tuberculosis, against genital infections and STDs like human papillomavirus."

Being an international organization, the IVI has no borders much like the viruses they fight.

Hence, they are also working in North Korea to eradicate bacterial meningitis and Japanese encephalitis.

Clemens found the North Korean government very receptive to their program of introducing these vaccines to the general populace and is hoping to expand their vaccination efforts in different areas as well.

"We`ve become essentially a world leading organization in three diseases: cholera, typhoid and dengue fever vaccines but we`re working on a variety of additional vaccines as well," he said.

(yoav@heraldm.com)



By Yoav Cerralbo