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Published online 13 July 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.680
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Swine flu shares some features with 1918 pandemic
Exposure to one pandemic may protect against the other.
As far as your immune system is concerned, the pandemic H1N1 (swine) flu virus currently circling the globe bears an uncanny resemblance to an influenza virus that wreaked havoc nearly a century ago, researchers have found.
For months, it has been apparent that swine flu strikes the young more often than the old — an unusual pattern that suggests older patients could have been exposed to similar viruses in the past.
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Anybody as nervous about this as I am? I have been doing some reading regarding the 1918 pandemic and this current H1N1 strain certainly seems to be showing some similar troubling similarities such as: seems to be infecting mostly younger and healthier individuals, began mildly in the late spring, when fatal seems to be because of pneumonia. Even more troubling is that this strain doesn't seem to be abating in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer and WHO yesterday said that a vaccine probably will not become available now until the end of the year instead of in the fall like they were planning on. As the current outbreak seems to respond well to antivirals, perhaps more emphasis on upping tamiflu and relenza production is in order.
I have been nervous a while...being as we in the southern hemisphere are in our normal flu season now, which is when everyone normally get sick. And now a new virus, which everyone tells us is "mild" - except when it isn't! Basically, while we - and by "we" I mean everyone - need more antiviral drugs to be produced, and made available ESPECIALLY to those who cannot afford them, we also need more flu vaccines, produced using new technology (animal and insect cells, even plants), with as wide a coverage as possible (common H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, new H1N1, B), again at prices that will allow immunisation of at-risk populations the world over.
The "affordable" price for any of these agents is negative, perhaps substantially so, for billions of humans. Related viruses have ALREADY evolved beyond the efficacy of at least some of the available antivirals (Itoh,Nature08260, p. 3) perhaps due to previous misuse in panic situations. Greater production and distribution of these antivirals could render them totally useless, like many antibiotics. Attention to social, herd based controls must move to the front burner.
Just a friendly reminder of some flu facts. 1-Cell culture based vaccines have been shown to be ineffective. Egg-based vaccines are still the only effective ones produced. Maybe research money should be directed into development of effective cell culture based vaccines? 2-Data suggests the probable reason that the 'swine flu' strains are hitting the younger folks harder is that the older folks have been vaccinated against related H1N1 strains. Some cross protection has been demonstrated. A good argument for seasonal flu vaccination. 3- 1 flu vaccine company has been very generous in donating many thousands of doses to countries that have limited access to it. 4- The 'swine flu' strain is a low producer causing delays in getting large quantities of vaccine out the door. 5- The need to improve vaccinology has not been a public health priority since the seasonal flu vaccines have become routine - almost taken for granted by the public. This latest epidemic and the sudden clamor for an instant vaccine reveals a gap in public support for vaccine production and serves as a warning to not take such things for granted. The technology for vaccine production and purification is neither easy nor straightforward. And safety is a key issue since nobody wants a vaccine that is not as safe as it could have been.
re..."Just a friendly reminder of some flu facts. 1-Cell culture based vaccines have been shown to be ineffective. Egg-based vaccines are still the only effective ones produced."... It is my understanding that Novartis Optaflu (MDCK-derived) showed similar efficacy to Aggripal (egg-derived) when compared head-to-head in 2007-2008. Are there data to the contrary?