The next update will be on Tuesday, April 13th, at 0830 hrs PST.
The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6
Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths*
*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of March 28, 2010National News
Even with peer review a controversial H1N1 study may raise more questions than it answers
A series of controversial Canadian studies have been published in the top-flight Public Library of Science Medical Journal causing some who dismissed the research to rethink their skepticism. The studies indicate a person’s chances of contracting pandemic H1N1 double if they first receive a shot for seasonal influenza. Researchers made their findings known in the spring of 2009 prompting a scramble among health authorities as they struggled to revise their vaccination programs, most postponing them altogether until the pandemic vaccine was available.
Outside Canada the effect was not detected, so the findings were dismissed as troubling but unconfirmed. The authors of the report remain proponents of flu shots saying the phenomenon really only relates to a brief period of time when humans were first exposed to the virus. Dr. Ed Belongia, the director of epidemiology at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Marshfield, Wisconsin says that while his centre's findings do not corroborate the Canadian studies, he’s impressed with their level of scrutiny and, “in that sense I can't easily dismiss it.” CBC News
Universal vaccination program saves both money and lives
Unlike most other provinces, Ontario has offered a universal flu vaccination program since 2000. Free flu shots are more commonly offered only to seniors and those who are at higher risk of flu-related complications. A University of Toronto study has found that Ontario’s program routinely saves at least 100 lives and prevents 35 000 more from falling ill each year. Even though it is $20 million more expensive than other plans, the projected cost of administering those escalated cases means the program still saves the Ontario health care system about $7.8 million. CanWest News Service
A series of controversial Canadian studies have been published in the top-flight Public Library of Science Medical Journal causing some who dismissed the research to rethink their skepticism. The studies indicate a person’s chances of contracting pandemic H1N1 double if they first receive a shot for seasonal influenza. Researchers made their findings known in the spring of 2009 prompting a scramble among health authorities as they struggled to revise their vaccination programs, most postponing them altogether until the pandemic vaccine was available.
Outside Canada the effect was not detected, so the findings were dismissed as troubling but unconfirmed. The authors of the report remain proponents of flu shots saying the phenomenon really only relates to a brief period of time when humans were first exposed to the virus. Dr. Ed Belongia, the director of epidemiology at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Marshfield, Wisconsin says that while his centre's findings do not corroborate the Canadian studies, he’s impressed with their level of scrutiny and, “in that sense I can't easily dismiss it.” CBC News
Universal vaccination program saves both money and lives
Unlike most other provinces, Ontario has offered a universal flu vaccination program since 2000. Free flu shots are more commonly offered only to seniors and those who are at higher risk of flu-related complications. A University of Toronto study has found that Ontario’s program routinely saves at least 100 lives and prevents 35 000 more from falling ill each year. Even though it is $20 million more expensive than other plans, the projected cost of administering those escalated cases means the program still saves the Ontario health care system about $7.8 million. CanWest News Service
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