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Swine flu rate falls but high among under-5s
Dec 24, 2009

RATES OF swine flu infection in the Republic continued to decline over the past week, according to latest figures from the Department of Health.

In a statement yesterday, it said the rate of influenza-like illness in the population dropped to 42.4 cases per 100,000 population over the past week, down from a rate of 51.3 per 100,000 a week earlier.

That is the equivalent of about 2,000 people succumbing to the virus over the past week, down from about 30,000 cases a week in early November.

Rates of infection among children under 5 remain high, at 113.7 cases per 100,000. In school-going children aged 5 to 14, rates of infection stand at 36 cases per 100,000.

No additional deaths from swine flu have been reported in the past week. The total number of deaths from the H1N1 virus in the State to date stands at 22.

The Department of Health stressed that because the rate of infection in children under 5 is significantly higher than that in the rest of the population, it was important to vaccinate them.

The HSE said the vaccination programme in schools will resume after the Christmas holidays.

Over-65s are also being invited to get vaccinated at mass vaccination clinics, as are families of babies under six months, to protect such babies who are too young to be vaccinated. A plan to roll out vaccinations to the rest of the population will be unveiled in January.

The Irish Medicines Board said yesterday 883 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccine had been reported to it. No serious unexpected safety issues had arisen.

A two-year-old child became the latest victim of swine flu in Northern Ireland, it was announced yesterday.

Swine flu death rate here one of highest in Europe
By Eilish O'Regan
January 02 2010

THE death toll here from swine flu is disproportionately high compared with other European states.

A total of 22 people have died here as a result of the virus, putting Ireland 12th in Europe for fatalities. In contrast, the Netherlands, with a population of more than 16.5 million people, has had just 52 deaths.

A table, covering 29 countries, was released by the the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

It sets out the number of reported deaths up to Christmas Eve from the pandemic virus that caused a worldwide alert last year.

It comes as the Department of Health has reported no new deaths from swine flu in the Republic over Christmas, during which time the spread of the disease fell significantly, affecting 1,034 people compared with more than 2,000 the previous week.

Lethal

However, although the trends are reassuring, the latest European report reveals how the virus, although mild for most sufferers, has been lethal for at least 832 people. It has claimed the most lives in Britain (156), followed by France (150), Germany (123), the Netherlands (52) and Greece (49).

During Christmas, 149 Irish people remained hospitalised with swine flu and 10 of these were seriously ill in intensive care.

According to the European report, Bulgaria continues to have a high intensity of swine flu along with Greece.

Ireland is categorised as having medium intensity, while countries seeing relatively low spread of the virus include Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Cyprus.

The age groups who most needed to be hospitalised with the virus in the Republic so far have been children under 15 years of age followed by people under 24 years of age. The lowest rate has been among people over 65. About 42pc of those who were hospitalised had pre-existing conditions such as chronic heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, asthma and diabetes.

The rate of swine flu illness has been highest in the west and south of the country, while the midlands has seen the lowest level of swine flu infections.

Up to last Sunday, the rate of infection among the 0-4 years of age group also fell to 27.6 per 100,000 compared with 113.7 per 100,000 for the previous week. The rate among the 5-14 years of age group also halved to 19.2 per 100,000.

The closure of schools and creches due to the holiday season was expected to be one of the factors leading to the drop among young children and teenagers. The department stressed, however, that the rates among children under five years of age were still relatively high.

"Children in this age group are more at risk of being hospitalised from flu complications and the department and the Health Service Executive would urge all parents to arrange to have their children under five vaccinated as soon as possible," a spokesman said.

"The vaccine programme through schools will resume after the holidays. Babies aged under six months cannot get the swine flu vaccine, but we will offer a vaccine to everyone living with a child under six months to protect the baby. Appointments can be made for a vaccination clinic on www.swineflu.ie or by contacting the HSE Information Line on 1850 24 1850."

The Irish Medicines Board said that up to last Wednesday, 907 reports of suspected adverse reactions to the swine flu vaccine were received.

The reports received remained consistent with the expected pattern of adverse effects for the pandemic vaccines. The benefits versus the risks of both vaccines remained positive, said the spokesman.

Friday January 15 2010

SWINE flu is on the rise again, but the number of those who are seriously ill with the virus has fallen.
New figures reveal that the number of people who contracted swine flu rose to 1,718 last week, compared with 919 the previous week.

11 February 2010 - Weekly Swine Flu bulletin
[...]
* GP consultation rates for combined ‘flu/ Flu like illness (FLI) have increased from 17.8 (updated) in Wk 4 to 38.7/100,000 population in Wk 5 (117% increase). Rates are now slightly higher than the same week last year but remain below the Northern Ireland threshold for seasonal influenza activity.
* Out of hours calls for ‘flu/FLI decreased from 54 in Wk 4 to 42 in Wk 5 (22% decrease).
* Two swine flu detections in Wk 5.
* A cumulative total of 1,363 swine flu detections in Northern Ireland as at noon 10 February 2010.
* There were no new hospitalised cases reported in Wk 5.
* A cumulative total of 575 hospitalised swine flu cases as at noon on 10 February 2010. (This includes one additional new case which has been reported since the end of week 5).
* The number of RSV detections decreased from 23 in Wk 4 to 11 in Wk 5 (52% decrease).
* No new swine flu related deaths have been reported in Wk 5. The total number of swine flu related deaths in Northern Ireland remains at 18 as at 10 February 2010.
* One school outbreak reported this week.
* Antiviral prescriptions have decreased from 25 in Wk 4 to 22 in Wk 5 (12% decrease). The total number of antivirals issued was 24,130 as at noon on 5 February.

The Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has said that people in Northern Ireland should still remain vigilant about swine flu.

“During this week we have seen a slight increase in GP consultations for flu and reports of a swine flu outbreak in a school. This confirms that the swine flu virus is still circulating.
[...]

After a tough couple of months, Shirley is now gradually finding her feet again, but suffers from asthma and is out of breath very quickly and remains extremely weak. But she says the daily struggle is worth it however, just to be re-united with her four-month-old son after missing out on the first three months of his life.

Although now home and doing well, it is still going to be a long line of physio sessions before Shirley is fully mobile again. However, it is feared her chest will always be weak and susceptible to colds and flu.

"When I was in hospital unable to move, I told myself if I get better I will never take anything for granted again because at that stage I couldn't even wipe my own nose and was reliant on the nurses for everything.

"I thought I was never going to be back to normal again as with all the muscle wastage I couldn't move. It has been a long, slow process but now I am getting on my feet, it is getting better. It was unbelievable taking Thomas for his first walk in the pram down the hall in the hospital."

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Almost 1,000 reported cases included vomiting or diarrhoea, fever, swollen glands and injection-site swelling

THE SWINE flu vaccine caused almost 1,000 suspected adverse reactions last year, more than any other vaccine or medicine over the past five years.

However, health authorities insist the vaccine is safe and that the balance of risk and benefits for the vaccine remains positive.

The Irish Medicines Board (IMB) says the most frequently reported reactions for the vaccine have been relatively mild injection-site reactions (such as swelling), gastrointestinal problems (such as vomiting or diarrhoea) and flu-like symptoms (such as fever and swollen glands).

The Irish Times requested a breakdown of the drugs or vaccines responsible for the highest number of adverse reactions from the IMB under the Freedom of Information Act over the past five years.

The data shows there were about 11,500 adverse reaction reports for drugs or vaccines submitted to health authorities between 2005 and the end of 2009.

The number of adverse reactions does not necessarily represent the risk profile of each drug or vaccine, as figures for the number of people using each drug are not available. Also, it does not provide a breakdown of the number of serious or mild adverse reactions.

The figures show that the anti-psychotic drug Clozapine, also known as Clozaril, ranks second-highest in the number of adverse reactions (883).

Common adverse effects of the drug include dizziness, rapid heartbeat, constipation, excess saliva production and weight gain.

Another drug used to treat psychosis, which has attracted a relatively high number of adverse reactions, is Risperidone (154), which is more commonly known as Risperdal.

The childhood combination vaccines, which includes jabs for whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, ranked third highest (722) in the number of adverse reactions.

Again, health authorities insist the vaccine is safe and that most adverse reactions are mild, such as swelling, redness or fever.

Paracetamol (715), one of the most commonly used pain killers, is sometimes associated with minor issues such as hives, rashes or – if taken at high levels over a prolonged period of time – kidney damage.

Lipitor, also known as Atorvastatin, was linked to 225 adverse reactions. Studies show these typically range from joint pain and stomach upset to more serious issues such as severe muscle problems.

A spokesperson for the IMB said adverse reaction reporting rates were influenced by the seriousness of the reactions, their ease of recognition and the extent of use of a particular medicine.

In addition, reporting rates are also influenced by campaigns aimed at healthcare professionals to submit reports on specific drugs or vaccines, often as part of ongoing post-marketing surveillance.

Publicity about a particular medicine or its safety may also lead to increased reporting.

The two swine flu vaccines available in Ireland since November – GlaxoSmithKline’s Pandemrix and Baxter’s Celvapan – have been subjected to a particular vigilance.

In the first two months of 2010, more than 400 additional adverse reactions had been recorded, meaning that the overall total tops 1,400.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

1. H1N1 vaccine: 934 (Swine flu vaccine.)