cHeroKee
02-20-2008, 11:57 PM
Wed, February 20, 2008
Vaccine-resistant flu bug found in Canada
Local officials monitoring situation as Ontario patients test positive for mutated
By BROOKES MERRITT ([email protected]), EDMONTON SUN
The influenza virus has mutated into a strain resistant to an antiviral drug that world governments have been stockpiling for years to stave off a super-flu pandemic.
Capital Health's Dr. Gerry Predy said the region is aware of the situation - which is developing in Europe - and is waiting for direction from Canada's national laboratory.
"We have been alerted to this issue in Europe by the national lab here in Canada, which is doing some testing on resistance for strains they are seeing this winter," he said.
Mutated flu viruses in 10 European countries, the United States, Australia, Hong Kong and Canada have been found resistant to the Tamiflu vaccine, according to the World Health Organization. Tamiflu is widely used to guard against Influenza A and B.
So far 12 of 173 Canadian test samples have proven resistant to the drug, the bulk of which were found in Ontario.
Individual cases have been found in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba.
Predy said he's unaware of any Alberta cases.
"We're still using Tamiflu in specific circumstances, like in an outbreak in a continuing care facility where lots of vulnerable people are.
"It seems to be working, but the emergence of resistant strains mean we'll have to be judicious in our use of it."
He cautioned against panic, saying that testing around the globe is still in the early stages.
An article in this week's online journal Eurosurveillance also took a measured approach to the statistics.
"Week-on-week changes need to be interpreted cautiously, as they are more a reflection of having more testing (in some European countries) than any changes in the underlying epidemiology," said the article, written by staff at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Vaccine-resistant flu bug found in Canada
Local officials monitoring situation as Ontario patients test positive for mutated
By BROOKES MERRITT ([email protected]), EDMONTON SUN
The influenza virus has mutated into a strain resistant to an antiviral drug that world governments have been stockpiling for years to stave off a super-flu pandemic.
Capital Health's Dr. Gerry Predy said the region is aware of the situation - which is developing in Europe - and is waiting for direction from Canada's national laboratory.
"We have been alerted to this issue in Europe by the national lab here in Canada, which is doing some testing on resistance for strains they are seeing this winter," he said.
Mutated flu viruses in 10 European countries, the United States, Australia, Hong Kong and Canada have been found resistant to the Tamiflu vaccine, according to the World Health Organization. Tamiflu is widely used to guard against Influenza A and B.
So far 12 of 173 Canadian test samples have proven resistant to the drug, the bulk of which were found in Ontario.
Individual cases have been found in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba.
Predy said he's unaware of any Alberta cases.
"We're still using Tamiflu in specific circumstances, like in an outbreak in a continuing care facility where lots of vulnerable people are.
"It seems to be working, but the emergence of resistant strains mean we'll have to be judicious in our use of it."
He cautioned against panic, saying that testing around the globe is still in the early stages.
An article in this week's online journal Eurosurveillance also took a measured approach to the statistics.
"Week-on-week changes need to be interpreted cautiously, as they are more a reflection of having more testing (in some European countries) than any changes in the underlying epidemiology," said the article, written by staff at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.