|
| |
| Helplines |
|
Dial Toll Free
National Helpline: 1075
NCDC: 011-23921401
Latest Government of India
updates: www.mohfw.nic.in |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| How do I Protect Myself from H1N1? |
| |
|
 |
Stay informed |
| |
|
|
Understand the influenza. It
spreads mainly person to
person through coughing or
sneezing of infected people |
| |
|
|
Take actions to stay
healthy |
| |
 |
Cover nose and mouth
with a tissue when
coughing/
sneezing |
|
Throw tissue in the trash
after using |
|
Wash hands often with
soap and water, especially
after coughing/sneezing |
|
Avoid touching eyes, nose
or mouth |
|
| |
|
|
Stay home if sick |
| |
|
|
Follow public health advice |
| |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| Pandemic Influenza Vaccine: An Update |
| No vaccine provides 100% immunity. Vaccinated individuals can get influenza caused by a different strain of the influenza virus with the vaccine not providing protection. Immunisation experts recommend single dose of vaccine in adults and adolescents from 10 years of age and above. They also found no evidence that co-administration of vaccines would increase risk of adverse events |
The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, which advises WHO on policies and strategies for vaccines and immunization, in its October meeting on pandemic influenza vaccines, reviewed the current epidemiological situation of influenza including pandemic influenza to advice on influenza vaccination strategy.
The recommendations were made on the number of doses of vaccine needed to confer protection; amongst different age groups, in the co-administration of seasonal and pandemic vaccines; in vaccines for use in pregnant women; and on the formulation of seasonal influenza vaccines for the southern hemisphere in 2010.
Profile of hospitalised patients
Globally, teenagers and young adults comprise majority of HINI cases. Cases of hospitalisation are highest amongst very young children. Nearly 1-10% patients with clinical illness require hospitalisation and of hospitalised patients, 10-25 require admission to an intensive care unit, 2-9% have a fatal outcome and 7-10% of all hospitalised patients are pregnant women in their second or third trimester of pregnancy.
Vaccine Dosage
A variety of pandemic vaccines, including live attenuated and both adjuvanted and non-adjuvanted inactivated vaccines, are now licensed for use by regulatory authorities. A single dose of vaccine is recommended in adults and adolescents, beginning 10 years of age, provided such use is consistent with indications from regulatory authorities. Studies however will be needed to determine dosage regimens effective in immunocompromised persons.
Immunisation experts recommend a single dose of vaccine in adults and adolescents from 10 years of age and above, provided this use is consistent with regulatory authorities' indications.
Where national authorities have made children a priority for early vaccination, experts are advising one dose of vaccine to as many children as possible over the age of 6 months and younger than 10 years of age. Recommendations on numbers of dosages may need to be adapted rapidly as new data emerges.
| Usually, inactivated vaccines should not be administered to: |
|
Those with a history of anaphylaxis (or hypersensitive reactions) or life-threatening allergic reactions to constituents or trace residues of the vaccine |
|
Those who are prone to severe reaction to previous influenza vaccination |
|
Those who developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting influenza vaccine |
|
Children less than 6 months of age |
|
Those with moderate-to-severe illness/ fever |
Co-administration of influenza and non influenza vaccines
Seasonal and pandemic vaccines can be administered simultaneously, provided both vaccines are inactivated, or one is inactivated and the other is live attenuated. Experts found no evidence that co-administration of vaccines would increase risk of adverse events. An inactivated (killed) influenza vaccine is administered to reduce the likelihood of becoming ill with influenza or spreading influenza to others. Inactivated influenza vaccine can be given at the same time as other injectable, non-influenza vaccines, but vaccines must be administered at different injection sites.
Seasonal influenza and pandemic influenza vaccines can be administered together. There is public health value in doing so, according to immunisation experts and there are ongoing clinical studies on this area of vaccine administration.
Inactivated vaccines contain killed viruses or parts of viruses, which cannot cause disease. Live influenza vaccine contains weakened influenza virus that multiplies poorly but is unable to cause disease. Both vaccines can cause flu-like side effects (muscle ache, fever) but the symptoms, sometimes associated with vaccination, are generally less pronounced and of shorter duration.
Vaccine safety
Experts reviewed early results from monitoring people who received pandemic vaccines and found no indication of unusual adverse reactions. Some adverse events following vaccination were notified, but these were well within the range of those seen with seasonal vaccines, which have an excellent safety profile. Although early results are reassuring, monitoring for adverse events is likely to continue.
Vaccines for pregnant women
Studies in experimental animals using live attenuated vaccines and non-adjuvanted or adjuvanted inactivated vaccines found no evidence of direct or indirect harmful effects on fertility, pregnancy, development of the embryo or fetus, birthing, or post-natal development.
Based on data and substantially elevated risk for severe outcomes in pregnant women infected with pandemic virus, SAGE recommended that any licensed vaccine can be used in pregnant women, provided no specific contraindication was identified by the regulatory authority.
Vaccines for southern hemisphere in 2010
SAGE considered vaccines for use in the southern hemisphere during the 2010 winter season. Two options were assessed: a trivalent vaccine, effective against H1N1 pandemic virus, seasonal H3N2 virus, and influenza B viruses and a bivalent seasonal vaccine, effective against H3N2 and influenza B viruses, which might need to be supplemented with separate monovalent H1N1 pandemic vaccine. Experts concluded that both options should remain available for vaccine formulations in the southern hemisphere, subject to national needs.
Vaccines and Immunity
No vaccine provides 100% immunity. Evidence suggests that influenza vaccines become effective only about 14 days after vaccination and those infected shortly before or after (1-3 days) immunisation can still get the disease. Also, vaccinated individuals can get influenza caused by a different strain of the influenza virus and that the vaccine will not provide protection for this.
People who have received the influenza vaccine can later have an illness, caused by other common viruses that are not influenza, but which are still mistaken for the flu. In each of these cases, the person may believe that the vaccine failed to protect them or that it caused the disease when neither conclusion was really accurate.
The pandemic influenza vaccines are not expected to provide protection against other influenza viruses. Since current seasonal influenza vaccines do not contain the pandemic virus, people should be vaccinated against both pandemic influenza and seasonal influenza. However, in the future, the situation could change.
Some vaccines contain inactivated (or killed) viruses. These are administered by injection into the upper arm for most people. In infants and younger children the thigh is the preferred site for the vaccine shot. Another type of vaccine is made with live viruses and administered by nasal spray and both are protective against influenza. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
| India Situation |
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
