Hot Topics - Diseases and vaccines - Flu/flu vaccine

March 1-7, 2004

February 23-29, 2004

February 16-22, 2004

►February 16, 2004 - A flu jab for all toddlers? - The Scotsman

►February 16, 2004 - State to determine whether avian flu outbreak involved live virus (requires registration) - AP via www.pennlive.com

►February 16, 2004 - Parents pay up for jabs - Evening Mail via icBirmingham.co.uk

►February 16, 2004 - What are dangers of the bird flu? (registration required) - United Features Syndicate via The Post and Courier

►February 16, 2004 - Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Thailand -This is a Follow-up report (No. 1) via OIE on the recent outbreak of Avian Influenza in Thailand. - Poultry News via www.thepoultrysite.com

►February 16, 2004 - Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in the US - This is a report via OIE on the recent outbreak of Avian Influenza in America. - Poultry News via www.thepoultrysite.com

►February 16, 2004 - A hint of the flu - The Globe and Mail - "Health experts fear that somewhere in the world today -- perhaps in Asia, where avian flu has killed at least 19 people -- a particularly dangerous genetic change may be taking place in a known influenza virus and creating something new, like the SARS virus, to which humans have no immunity. If such a virus were able to spread easily from person to person, a pandemic could occur similar to the one in 1918-19, when Spanish flu killed an estimated 50 million people around the world...Flu viruses undergo such antigenic changes frequently (though thankfully with less dire consequences).

►February 15, 2004 - Bird-Brained Flu Hype - New York Post - "AVIAN flu, if it morphs into a human-to- human virus, could cause another worldwide epidemic like the one in 1918, when almost a billion people got sick, 50 million died and the Great War ground to a halt. This is the public health message that has been broadcast over the media megaphone recently...The U.S. public, tired of influenza from December's over-hyped outbreak, and not that concerned about health care in other countries to begin with, isn't buying this message. But because the public is sure to buy some later message about some other hyped bacteria or virus, we must look at how public health officials choose to inform - or misinform - us."

►February 14, 2004 - Mortality from avian flu is higher than in previous outbreak - journal article (BMJ) - "The mortality in Vietnam of between 60% and 70% is much higher than the 30% mortality of the 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong, said Professor David Hui, a respiratory medicine specialist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Professor Hui is in Vietnam as part of a team of specialists who are training medical staff in infection control and treatment of H5N1 avian flu...."This is a puzzle... we are trying to find out: is the virus changing in structure? Is it becoming more virulent? Is the clinical spectrum different from 1997?' Professor Hui told Reuters Television."

►February 15, 2004 - State confirms avian flu in Lancaster County flock - The state Agriculture Department confirmed an outbreak of avian flu at a Lancaster County farm, but said the strain infecting the flock is not likely to be harmful to humans. - AP via Nepa News

►February 15, 2004 - China Finds More Bird Flu Ahead of Crisis Talks - Radio Free Asia

►February 16, 2004 - Ban on farm hit by avian flu may be lifted - The Japan Times

►February 16, 2004 - Bird Flu Outbreak Has Farmers Jittery (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "The influenza strain, known as H7, is not a danger to humans, and is not even particularly deadly for chickens. But if allowed to spread, health experts say, it can mutate into a more virulent strain for animals. Consequently, the state typically orders entire flocks destroyed when even a single bird becomes infected."

►February 16, 2004 - Flu illness 'may bring on asthma' - Catching flu early in life may actually increase the chances of a child developing asthma later, say experts. - BBC - "Their finding, in a study of mice, contradicts the suggestion that early infections have a protective effect...Writing in the journal Nature Immunology, the team from Stanford University say that flu boosted the body's allergic responses."

February 9-15, 2004

►February 14, 2004 - Thailand's PM confident bird flu is beaten - www.abc.net.au

►February 15, 2004 - Concern as bird flu makes the jump to other species - Taipei Times

►February 14, 2004 - China's bird flu claim suspect - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

►February 14, 2004 - Flu jabs scandal puts old at risk - icBirmingham.co.uk - "Half a million elderly people in the Midlands are at risk of catching killer flu because of a vaccination flop...The prediction comes after it was revealed that less than HALF the primary care trusts in the region had hit Government targets for offering the life-saving jabs."

Comment:  Is the government ignorant of the fact that this year's flu vaccine probably doesn't work, or do they just don't care?

►February 13, 2004 - Bird flu strain in Pennsylvania said no threat to humans - Reuters via Forbes

►February 13, 2004 - New Flu Vaccine Provides Insight into Immunity Development, Says Stanford Researcher - Stanford University Medical Center via Business Wire

Comment:  Wouldn't it be better to understand immunity prior to using vaccines, rather than use them under the assumption that they both work and are safe?

►February 12, 2004 - Chiron to Testify to Congress on Influenza Vaccine - President and CEO Howard Pien to Appear at U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform Committee Hearing Today - PRNewswire-FirstCall via http://interestalert.com - "'"Chiron is committed to meeting demand for flu vaccine in the United States, today and tomorrow,' said Mr. Pien...'Strengthening our public health infrastructure -- to increase immunization rates in the inter-pandemic years -- is the single most important initiative today to prepare for tomorrow's pandemic.'"

►February 12, 2004 - Flu bugs more dangerous than terrorists, county officials told - Billings Gazette

►February 13, 2004 - Bird Flu Vaccine Is Called Feasible - Boston Globe via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►February 10, 2004 - Indonesia Importing Bird Flu Vaccine From China, Despite Concerns About Its Quality - AP via www.intelihealth.com

►February 13, 2004 - Bird flu viruses have geographic features - Xinhuanet via China View

►February 13, 2004 - Bird flu victim's father sues Thai government - Financial Times - "The angry father of a six-year-old Thai boy who died of bird flu has filed a legal complaint against the Thai government, accusing it of covering up the lethal disease, with fatal consequences for his son...Chamnan Bounmanut, whose son Captan was the first of five Thais to die from the H5N1 bird flu virus, says the boy would be alive today if the government had issued public warnings that bird flu was sweeping through Thai poultry and could infect people."

►February 13, 2004 - Officials Say Avian Flu Poses No Threat in New Jersey (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times

►February 13, 2004 - New Zealand not to ban cold and flu medicine - Xinhuanet via China View - "The New Zealand government has decided not to ban common cold or flu medicines on pharmacy shelves in the country, New Zealand Press Association reported Friday...Pseudoephedrine, a major ingredient in many medicines, not onlysoothes cough and cold but also is used in the manufacture of the illegal drug methamphetamine (speed), which was reclassified as a Class A drug last year."

►February 13, 2004 -  WHO bird flu study finds virus infects humans fast, kills quickly - AFP via www.channelnewsasia.com - "The first study of Asia's bird flu cases shows the virus has an alarmingly high fatality rate and that victims typically die less than two weeks after falling ill with raging fever and breathing difficulties...The World Health Organisation (WHO) survey of 10 human cases of bird flu in Vietnam, where 14 people have died of the disease, found that of the group eight died, one recovered and another remains in a critical condition."

►February 13, 2004 - FAO: bird flu not under control yet - Xinhuanet via China View

►February 13, 2004 - Leopard Dies of Bird Flu - A leopard has died from bird flu in a Thai zoo, it was disclosed today. - The Scotsman - "An official at the zoo said the leopard’s death 'may have been as a result of it eating chicken infected with bird flu'...The World Health Organisation said it had little information about the case – but if confirmed it could be the first time the disease has jumped to exotic animals or members of the cat family."

►February 13, 2004 - Vietnam rejects WHO criticism over handling of bird flu outbreak - AFP via www.channelnewsasia.com

►February 12, 2004 - Avian flu found at four New Jersey live chicken markets; officials say no danger to humans - AP via The Hannibal Courier-Post

►February 13, 2004 - Bird flu short incubation: study - AP via The Australian

►February 13, 2004 - WHO assurance on bird flu scare - The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dispelled fears of bird flu being transmitted by humans in Vietnam. - Aljazeera.net
►February 12, 2004 - MedImmune thinking twice about staying in vaccine business - CNS via www.sunherald.com - "The research chief of Gaithersburg-based MedImmune told a House committee Thursday that the company may get out of the vaccine-production business, following disappointing sales of its nasal-spray vaccine this flu season."

Comment: "BL Fisher Note (from the NVIC newsletter): When America's free enterprise system is allowed to work properly, without government coercion, then those products the public needs and wants will be purchased and consumed and those the public does not need or want will not be purchased and consumed. That leaves the way open for other manufacturers to build a better mousetrap and persuade the public to use that better mousetrap, which is as it should be...A good example is the Prevnar vaccine. The Prevnar vaccine, without any government mandates, was the best selling new drug/biological in 2001. Wyeth can't make the product fast enough to satisfy public demand...In any given year, only about one quarter of the US population has voluntarily chosen to purchase and consume flu vaccine of any kind. Only when government interferes and mandates use of a vaccine or subsidizes manufacturers of vaccines is America's free enterprise system not allowed to work as it should. At the end of the day, the public should not be forced to use a product it does not want...There were very good reasons why the FDA did not approve FLUMIST for use in children under five or adults over 50. MedImmune and Wyeth both know why. MedImmune is wise to read the writing on the wall rather than ask for government bailout of a vaccine that the public, for whatever reasons, obviously does not want."

►February 12, 2004 - Drug company greed hurts effort on flu (requires registration) - opinion - The Central Florida Future - "What Bush's privatization plan would essentially do to the U.S. pharmaceutical landscape is put our unenviable drug dependency more in the hands of companies whose sole interests are profits. That almost definitely will result in a drop in vaccine availability nationwide."

►February 12, 2004 - Flu Vaccine Makers Say Gov't Must Increase Demand - Reuters, UK - "Vaccine makers can not guarantee enough future supplies of flu vaccines unless the government can help ensure profitability, drug company officials told U.S. Congress on Thursday...Unless the market is expanded -- either by ensuring that more at-risk people get vaccinations for influenza or simply more people in general, companies have little incentive for innovation, the executives said...'Raising demand is key to raising supply,' Howard Pien, president and chief executive officer of Emeryville, Calif.-based Chiron Corp. said...'A universal recommendation... will in turn provide the impetus on the part of vaccine manufacturers to increase their production capacity to meet routine demand,' James Young, president of Research and Development at MedImmune, said."

Comment:  Can this really be happening?  Are they going to get away with it?  If history is any judge, they just well may.  For more on the flu and the flu vaccine, go to Dr. Sherri Tenpenny's articles at www.redflagsdaily.com .

►January 15, 2004 - Jury Still Out On Flu Vaccine - HealthDay via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - "The CDC is still urging flu vaccination, especially for such high-risk persons as children and older people, because history shows that the vaccine probably is preventing the disease in many cases and reducing the incidence of complications in those who develop the disease, says Dr. Nidhi Jain, a CDC epidemiologist..."Remember, there are three different strains in the vaccine," Treanor says. "One of those strains could pop out later this year...And the record of past years in which there was a mismatch between the virus used for the vaccine and the most common strain in the population shows that the vaccine did reduce the number of infections and the potentially life-threatening complications in those who developed influenza, Jain says."

Comment:  Even though the CDC says "This study does not provide data that permits an assessment of the effectiveness of TIV (trivalent inactivated vaccine) against laboratory-confirmed influenza and its complications. Additional studies to provide such data are under way. Because TIV was effective against laboratory-confirmed influenza and influenza-related complications in previous years in which it was not effective against ILI (8,9), and because influenza B and influenza A (H1N1) viruses might cause serious illness later this season, influenza vaccine continues to be recommended for persons at increased risk for influenza-related complications, their household contacts, and health-care personnel.", it is still difficult to see how the CDC can continue to recommend this vaccine.  This is particularly true given that their own preliminary studies confirm that it appears the vaccine is not likely to be protective.  (After all, it is not as if there are no adverse flu vaccine-associated reactions reported to VAERS.  Between 1990 and now there have been 20,174, probably at a minimum representing over 200,000.) That is, it is hard to fathom unless they view their primary job to be protecting the vaccine manufacturers rather than the public.   And unless they have conducted studies comparing those who were vaccinated to those who were not vaccinated against the flu (breaking it down by "never vaccinated" and all the various vaccine combinations), there is simply no basis for the argument that a mismatched flu vaccine offers at least some protection against the flu.

►February 12, 2004 - Call for bird vaccinations - Chickens may get the jab to stop spread of bird flu. - Nature

Comment:  But if a recent article in New Scientist is correct, vaccinations may be part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.

►February 11, 2004 - Avian Influenza - Advice from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Travel VideoTelevision News

►February 11, 2004 - Spinoff of vaccine firm raises doubts on flu plan - Canadian Press via the Toronto Star - "The backbone of the federal pandemic flu plan, which will be released Thursday, is a contract to buy enough vaccine to inoculate all Canadians. But a question mark is hanging over the future of the vaccine manufacturer, leaving some to wonder how firm that backbone really is...A crucial feature of the federal plan is that Canada has secured a domestic supplier of vaccine, Shire Biologics of Laval, Que. Having a domestic supplier ensures flu shots bought, paid for and destined for Canadian arms couldn't be nationalized by another government desperate to protect its own citizens from an influenza pandemic sweeping the globe...But the British company that owns Shire Biologics is in the process of divesting itself of the vaccine manufacturer, a move that has drawn purchase offers from a number of other companies. That situation is prompting questions about how iron-clad the procurement contract is."

►January 5, 2004 - Nasal Flu Vaccine Safe for Kids - HealthDay via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - "Here's some good news for parents who have to drag their kids kicking and screaming to get their annual flu shot...It turns out an influenza virus vaccine delivered as a nasal spray protects healthy children against certain strains of influenza, says a report in the January issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine...Doctors at the Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Clinic in Temple, Texas, found children who received the nasal vaccination were protected against influenza infection during the 2000 flu epidemic."

Comment:  Note that the results of this study do not mean the nasal flu vaccine was protective against this year's flu.  Nor, in all likelihood, was it protective against this year's flu.  (Why they failed to make sure parents understood this, is beyond me.)

►February 11, 2004 - Vaccines Stockpile urged - New Zealand warning - Otago Daily Times - "Two University of Otago graduates have warned New Zealand must ready itself for the bird flu by stockpiling vaccines for the deadly disease...Dr Robert Webster and Dr Richard Webby - who now head a Memphis-based World Health Organisation laboratory for animal influenza viruses - have said there is a worldwide shortage of two drugs which can help fight bird flu, One News reported last night."

►February 11, 2004 - Genetic analysis probes bird flu's history - New Scientist - "Recent work also reveals that the virus has been mutating rapidly in response to 'unusual selective pressure' from an unknown source. Prominent virologists have warned that widespread vaccination of poultry against bird flu - as has been the case in China - could have this effect."

Comment:  How many new diseases are a result of vaccination?  How many researchers are even looking into this possibility?  How many diseases caused by vaccination are we now seeking to develop vaccines to prevent in the future?  How many of these new diseases are more serious, with humans less adapted to them than the original disease for which the vaccine was designed?

►February 11, 2004 - Thailand rejects WHO criticism over handling of bird flu outbreak – www.channelnewsasia.com 

►January Supplement 1, 2004 - Vaccination for pandemic influenza: a six point agenda for interpandemic years. - journal article (Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal)

►February 11, 2004 - A timely account of the 1918 flu pandemic - The Boston Globe

►February Supplement 2, 2004 - Pneumococcal resistance in perspective: how well are we combating it? - journal article (Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal)

►February 2004 - Safety of cold-adapted live attenuated influenza vaccine in a large cohort of children and adolescents - journal article (Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal)

►February 11, 2004 - Bird flu two years to control: WHO - The deadly bird flu sweeping Asia could take two years to get under control, the World Health Organization has warned. - CNN

►February 10, 2004 - Tests Show Avian Flu on Second Del. Farm - Delaware Officials Order Quarantine, Chicken Slaughter After Second Bird Flu Case Found - AP via ABC News

►February 10, 2004 - Bird flu linked to 1918 pandemic - The Telegraph, UK

►February 10, 2004 - Bird Flu Rattles U.S. Poultry Officials (registration required) - AP via The Kansas City Star

►February 9, 2004 - WHO says bird flu problem may take couple of years to contain - Canadian Press via http://cnews.canoe.ca

►February 9, 2004 - With diseased animals, disposal isn't simple - New York Times News Service via www.abs-cbnnews.com

►February 9, 2004 - Wyeth Sniffs at U.S. Warning That Grounded Flu Drug Sales - Financial Times via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

►February 9, 2004 - 'Respiratory etiquette' cuts spread of disease - Evansville Courier & Press via Healthy News

►February 9, 2004 - Where's the Flu Bug? - www.kndu.com - "This is usually the time of the year when the flu bug is hitting the hardest...But after an early start, and a run on flu shots, we haven’t seen the big outbreak that was feared. It came early, and it looks like it might have left just as quickly."

►February 9, 2004 - As bird flu spreads, global health weaknesses are exposed - NY Times News Service via www.abs-cbnnews.com

►February 10, 2004 - More Singaporeans taking flu inoculations - Channel NewsAsia via Yahoo!

►February 10, 2004 - Despite drop in flu, vaccinations still encouraged - The Robesonian - "Even though the worst of the national flu epidemic seems to have passed, the Robeson County Health Department is urging at-risk individuals to take advantage of the limited number of flu vaccines still available...Bill Smith, health director, said flu season typically runs through March, and data from the past two winters show that flu activity has peaked during February and March."

Comment:  And in spite of the fact that they apparently do not work, even according to the CDC.

►February 10, 2004 - WHO wants more tests to ensure bird flu cannot be passed among humans - Channel News Asia

►February 10, 2004 - WHO raps Asia over handling of bird flu crisis as China reports new cases - AFP via www.channelnewsasia.com

►February 10, 2004 - EU warns Asian countries against bird flu cover-up - EU Business

►February 9, 2004 - Confidence the key in fight against bird flu - China Daily - "As the highly contagious bird flu virus spreads across Asia, the affliction has become embedded in the popular lexicon through media reports and ordinary conversation...The new crisis appeared when many in the region were still reeling from the bitter memories of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), and it has unavoidably triggered public panic in some places."

►February 9, 2004 - China official threatens HK media over flu reports - Reuters AlertNet - "A Chinese official has threatened to take legal action against Hong Kong's journalists over their reporting of bird flu outbreaks on the mainland, newspapers here reported on Monday...Zhong Yangsheng, executive vice governor of China's southern Guangdong province, also insisted there was no outbreak in the province's Chaoan county although it has been confirmed by the central government."

►February 8, 2004 - Wyeth says warnings hurt flu drug sales - Financial Times - "Wyeth has blamed the US authorities in part for the poor performance of FluMist, its flu vaccine...Robert Essner, chief executive of Wyeth, said warnings by the government and health groups had triggered 'folklore' that the weakened, but live flu virus used in FluMist could be transmitted to other people, causing sickness. He said Wyeth was conducting a comprehensive review of its strategy for the product."

►February 8, 2004 - No human-to-human link, says WHO - Follow-up tests on Vietnamese sisters show no human genes in virus, meaning it has not mutated to a more lethal form - The Straits Times

►February 9, 2004 - WHO says Vietnam flu is not new - Taipei Times - "The WHO said the bird flu that killed two people in Vietnam was not a new, more contagious strain, and officials here rejected claims that pigs now have the virus...Meanwhile, China has confirmed three more outbreaks among birds...The UN agency said on Saturday that 'reassuring' test results from the two Vietnamese sisters, who died earlier this month, show 'both viruses are of avian origin and contain no human influenza genes.'"

►February 3, 2004 - Ferret shortage may cause a 'bottleneck' in pandemic vaccine production: WHO - Canadian Press via www.canada.com - "Efforts to create a prototype vaccine to protect humans in the event of a H5N1 influenza pandemic may be facing an unusual problem: a shortage of flu-free ferrets...The head of the World Health Organization's global influenza program says efforts to create what's called the viral seed for a pandemic vaccine are moving along at the expected pace, but there's been a delay in getting the ferrets needed to test whether the genetically altered virus is safe to work with."

►February 3, 2004 - Asia should change lifestyle to avoid bird flu: WHO - Xinhuanet via China View

►February 2, 2004 - Public health expects fewer vaccines next year - The Gillette News-Record

January 26 - February 8, 2004 (2 weeks combined due to illness)