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Swine Flu Prevention & Treatment – Antiviral Drugs

admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:28:17 +0000

In most cases, pig flu or swine flu (H1N1 virus) can be treated and prevented with antiviral drugs.

For Treatment:
If you are feeling sick, influenza antiviral drugs are available and these can help reduce the illness and heal faster. The best time to take antiviral drugs is within 48 hours upon detection of the symptoms – this is usually given for hospitalised patients and those at high risk for influenza-related complications.

For Prevention:
Influenza antiviral drugs can be used for the prevention of swine flu. These drugs are given to the person who has been closed to a person who has the swine influenza, but is not ill. The effectiveness is about 70% – 90%. For prevention, the number of days that it should be used varies, depending on situation.

The Available Drugs:
There are 2 drugs available for the treatment and prevention of swine flu. They are:
1. Oseltmivir or Tamiflu® is approved to treat and prevent influenza virus A and B in people who are 1 years old and above.
2. Zanamivir or Relenza® is approved to treat influenza virus A and B in people 7 years and older and to prevent influenza virus A and B in people whom are 5 years old and above.

Prognosis/Studies:
In flu treatment, studies of patients who took Tamiflu within 48 hours of the first appearance of symptoms:
- Adults actually felt better 30 percent faster (1.3 days) than flu patients who did not take the drug
- Children actually felt better up to 26 percent faster (1.5 days) than flu patients who did not take the drug

Drug Side Effects:
In studies, they have found side effects with using the antiviral drug Relenza. The side effects of taking Relenza (may and may not arise in everyone) are headaches, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, nasal irritation, bronchitis, cough, sinusitis, ear, nose, and throat infections, and dizziness. Other side effects that have been reported, but were not as common, include rashes and allergic reactions, some of which were severe.

This information is only to inform you that there is treatment available. Please seek your doctor for further advice and treatment. If you have any flu symptoms, quickly seek your doctor.

Increase Your Immunity from Viruses or Infections

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:27:28 +0000

Viruses can cause a wide range of illnesses, from respiratory infections such as the common cold to life-threatening meningitis. Apart from the symptoms they produce, some viruses can be factors in the development of other noninfectious conditions.

For example, hepatitis, a common and contagious illness caused by one of several different viruses – hepatitis A, B, C or E – infects the liver, sometimes resulting in severe disease that can progress to noncontagious cirrhosis or liver cancer. Some other cancers, such as cervical cancer and T-cell leukaemia, are also triggered by viruses.

The best way to increase your immunity is by receiving vaccines against common viruses you many encounter, such as flu, measles and hepatitis A and B.

Please see Adult Vaccinations to see when you need to get one.

Increase your immunity with vaccination.

Adult Vaccinations

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:10:32 +0000

There are a few reasons why adults may still need vaccination/immunization:

Some adults were never vaccinated as children / incorrectly vaccinated
Newer vaccines are now available but were not available when they were a child
Immunity can fade or dissappear over time
As adults get older, some may easily become more susceptible to diseases caused by common infections like flu or pneumococcus

Below is a chart to determine how often and when you should get vaccination or immunization. Depending on every adults’ circumstances, adults often need more of these shots than they suspect.

RECOMMENDED VACCINE	HOW OFTEN	GET IT IF YOU…	AVOID IT IF YOU ARE…
INFLUENZA Protects against the flu, which can be fatal, especially in the elderly	Every year in March or April.	Are age 65 or older, or if you have certain chronic medical problems, live in a nursing home or care for someone who is chronically ill. Are a healthy pregnant woman who will be in your second or third trimester during flu season (May to July). Are a health-care worker who contact will chronically ill people.	Severely allergic to eggs.
PNEUMOCOCCAL (PPV) Guards against pneumonia and blood infections caused by Pneumococcus bacteria.	Once, with a booster five years later if you have a chronic illness, or were 65 or over at your first shot.	Are age 65 or older. Suffer from a chronic illness or alcoholism, regardless of your age. Have lost your spleen or are immunocompromised for other reasons, regardless of your age.
HEPATITIS B (HEP-B) Prevents an infection that can cause liver failure.	Three shots over a 6-18 month period.	Are an unvaccinated adolescent; have had a sexually transmitted disease and/or multiple sexual partners; use illicit injectable drugs; or are a firefighter, police officer, health-care worker or a worker with the developmentally disabled. Plan to travel internationally to countries where the disease is prevalent.
HEPATITIS A (HEP-A) Shields against liver inflammation caused by a virus.	Two doses, 6-18 month apart.	Plan to travel outside New Zealand and Australia, except to northern and western Europe, the United States, Canada or Japan. Have chronic liver disease, use illicit injectable drugs or work as a food handler.	Severely allergic to yeast (this is rare).
TETANUS, DIPHTHERIA (TD) Prevents lockjaw and an infection of the throat that can damage the heart and lungs.	After a primary series of three shots (usually in childhood), boosters every 10 years.	Haven’t had one within the past 10 years.	Pregnant, since safety during pregnancy has not been determined.
MEASLES, MUMPS, RUBELLA (MMR) Prevents three contagious viral infections that may cause birth defects or death.	Two doses separated by at least one month (usually given during childhood at 12 months of age).	Are an adult born after 1956 and are uncertain whether you were vaccinated. Belong to a high-risk group, including health-care workers, students entering college and international travelers.	Severely allergic to eggs. Pregnant or may become pregnant within three months. Have an immune disorder other than HIV infection.
VARICELLA Protects against chickenpox.	Adult: Two doses at least six weeks apart. Child: 12 months to 12 years: one dose.	Have never had chickenpox, especially if you frequently come in close contact with very young children or anyone seriously ill. Plan to travel internationally.	Pregnant or may become pregnant within one months. Are immunocompromised.
POLIO Prevents an infection that can lead to paralysis.	One dose once in adulthood, if it was not given during childhood.	Are traveling to the developing countries of Africa (all regions), Asia (East and Southeast), the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent or most of the former Soviet Union.

Source: Adapted from recommendations of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, Canberra, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Adult Vaccination

An Adult Immunization Schedule/Chart (US) can be downloaded here:

US Adult Immunization Schedule for 2009

Vaccines – An Intelligent Defence

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:11:41 +0000

When it comes to great medical achievements, there have been few as important as the discovery by a daring eighteenth-century English doctor, Edward Jenner. He devised the technique know as vaccination – in which he artificially created immune defences (antibodies) to prevent infection.

Operating on a hunch, Jenner took pus from a sore caused by cowpox – a similar but much milder relative of lethal smallpox – and scratched it into the arm of a healthy boy. Despite subsequent, repeated exposure to smallpox, the boy avoided the disease. Jenner never knew exactly why his risk experiment worked, but today we do. When tiny amounts of weakened or inactive bacteria or viruses are introduced into the body, the bits of foreign material stimulate lymphocytes to produce antibodies, making it easier for the body to fight off any subsequent invasion by a similar organism. Now, vaccines developed on principles Jenner observed protect our bodies against a host of once-terrible scourges.

The vaccines available today are highly reliable, and most children in the world routinely receive them. Adult immunization, however, is frequently overlooked as a part of health care, even though the benefits can be enormous. One study found that preventing the spread of flu by giving flu shots to health-care workers in aged-care facilities cut the death rate for patients by 60 per cent. Other research found that immunization against hepatitis B can decrease the occurrence of liver cancer.

For more information about vaccines for cancer, a cancer vaccine fact sheet can be found here.

Vaccine for Cancer