Don’t give up on swine flu jab

THE five Welsh patients with a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu have increased the need for those at risk to be vaccinated, health officials have said.
Over the weekend, three of the five remained in Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales. The five are thought to be first confirmed person-to-person cases of a Tamiflu-resistant strain in the world.
Concerns exist that those in need of vaccination will now pass up the offer because they believe the virus is untreatable, but hospital officials warned the opposite was true and that vaccination was more important than ever.
Dr Roland Salmon, director of the National Public Health Service for Wales’ (NPHS) communicable disease surveillance centre, said that the emergence of a Tamiflu-resistant strain was not unexpected where patients had serious underlying conditions and suppressed immune systems.
He said: “I wouldn’t like people to go away with the idea that this is completely untreatable.
“This is a very special set of circumstances, and it remains to be seen whether this would actually happen out in the community, where most of the people you would meet would have perfectly normal immune systems.
“One of the things this does say to us is, if anything, it makes vaccination more important and particularly vaccination of those people who have been top of the priority list, which is those with underlying health conditions of the type which have given rise to the problem here.
“The one medicine, an important medicine that we’ve got a lot of, Tamiflu, these patients have developed resistance to.
“But there is another perfectly good treatment, Relenza or Zanamirvir, still available and to which this virus is not only sensitive but, for various biological reasons, we expect to remain sensitive.”
Two of the five Cardiff patients were treated and discharged while one is spending the weekend in critical care and the other two are on a ward being treated.
It is thought that they contracted the virus in hospital, but health officials have stressed there is no risk to anyone else.
Tests have been carried out to establish what happened and officials have issued reassurances to the public that Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, is safe.
The Government stockpiled millions of doses of the drug, which can cut the duration and severity of flu infections, before swine flu first emerged in April.
The drug has been used as a first line treatment in those people who become infected and have underlying health problems, putting them at greater risk of complications.
Despite the latest alert, statistics show that cases of swine flu are falling
Dr Salmon said: “The number of people contacting their GP with flu symptoms has stalled and started to decline slightly over Wales as a whole.
“Nevertheless, flu is still circulating and we therefore continue to emphasise the importance of being aware of the symptoms of swine flu and of the steps that can be taken to prevent its spread.
“The vaccine against swine flu has been tested and approved. It is now being offered to people at most risk of complications from the virus as well as front line health and social care workers.
“Vaccination is the most effective tool we have in preventing swine flu, so I urge people identified as being at risk to look out for their invitation to be vaccinated by their GP surgery.”
In the UK, 214 people with swine flu have died – 21 in Wales. Most had underlying health conditions.