World Health Organization Updates
Preparing for the second wave: lessons from current outbreaks
Monitoring of outbreaks from different parts of the world provides sufficient information to make some tentative conclusions about how the influenza pandemic might evolve in the coming months.
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 63
In the southern hemisphere, most countries (represented by Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and Australia) appear to have passed their peak of influenza activity and have either returned to baseline levels or are experiencing focal activity in later affect areas; while a few others (represented by South Africa and Bolivia) continue to experience high levels of influenza activity.
Many countries in tropical regions (represented by Central America and tropical regions of Asia), continue to see increasing or sustained high levels of influenza activity with some countries reporting moderate strains on the healthcare system. In temperate areas of the northern hemisphere (represented by North America, Europe, and Central Asia), influenza and respiratory disease activity remains low overall, with some countries experiencing localized outbreaks. In Japan, the level of influenza activity has passed the seasonal epidemic threshold, signaling a very early beginning to the annual influenza season.
Pandemic H1N1 influenza virus continues to be the predominant circulating strain of influenza, both in the northern and southern hemisphere. Antiviral susceptibility testing has increased in several countries, confirming that pandemic H1N1 influenza virus remains sensitive to the antiviral oseltamivir, except for sporadic reports of oseltamivir resistant pandemic H1N1 virus detailed in the previous web update (No. 62).
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 62 (revised 21 August 2009)
The countries and overseas territories/communities that have newly reported their first pandemic (H1N1) 2009 confirmed case(s) since the last web update (No. 61) as of 13 August 2009 are:
Ghana, Zambia, and Tuvalu
Recommended use of antivirals
31 July 2009 – Research conducted in the USA and published 29 July in The Lancet has drawn attention to an increased risk of severe or fatal illness in pregnant women when infected with the H1N1 pandemic virus.
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 62
The countries and overseas territories/communities that have newly reported their first pandemic (H1N1) 2009 confirmed case(s) since the last web update (No. 61) as of 13 August 2009 are:
Ghana, Zambia, and Tuvalu
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 61
The countries and overseas territories/communities that have newly reported their first pandemic (H1N1) 2009 confirmed case(s) since the last web update (No. 60) as of 6 August 2009 are:
Timore-Leste, Pakistan, Kirabati, Maldives, French Guiana, Falkland Islands (UKOT), Wallis and Futuna (FOC)
Pandemic influenza vaccine manufacturing process and timeline
It takes approximately five to six months for the first supplies of approved vaccine to become available once a new strain of influenza virus with pandemic potential is identified and isolated. These months are needed because the process of producing a new vaccine involves many sequential steps, and each of these steps requires a certain amount of time to complete. The vaccine development process from start (obtaining a virus sample) to end (availability of vaccine for use) is summarized below.
Safety of pandemic vaccines
6 August 2009 - WHO is aware of some media reports that have expressed concern about the safety of vaccines for pandemic influenza. The public needs to be reassured that regulatory procedures in place for the licensing of pandemic vaccines, including procedures for expediting regulatory approval, are rigorous and do not compromise safety or quality controls.
Pandemic influenza in pregnant women
31 July 2009 – Research conducted in the USA and published 29 July in The Lancet has drawn attention to an increased risk of severe or fatal illness in pregnant women when infected with the H1N1 pandemic virus.
