Thursday, May 07, 2009

Swine Flu: Influenza A (H1N1) not as devastating as originally thought

It seems that the Swine Flu or Influenza A (H1N1) virus was not as virulent as was feared.

It was initially thought that the fatality rate from Swine Flu was as high as 6% but after some reclassification and taking into account the underreporting of milder cases, it would seem that the fatality rate is not that high.

Our Ministry of Health will progressively downgrade our DORSCON Status from Orange to Yellow by 11 May. What that means is that when you visit the clinic on 11 May, everything should be much the same as before. That a big relief as I often have to show our younger patients how to stick out their tongues by demonstrating it myself!

However, parents are still adviced to be vigilant and to observe a good level of hygiene. Please do not send your child to school if they are having a fever. Everyone can do their part to control the spread of highly infectious diseases like Swine Flu.

We have managed to put in an order of Flu vaccinations which should be coming in next week. As there are limited stock, please call the clinic to reserve your vaccine and we will inform you when the stock gets in.

4 comments:

SHeLLLoW said...

Hi,
my gal is 10 mth old now (born 12 wk premature), is it ok for her to take flu vaccine? thanks

Dr Leslie said...

Correcting for her real age, she should be 7 months now.

The flu vaccine can be given from 6 mths onwards.

Kin said...

Hi,
I just found out that for children under 9, there are 2 shots to take one month apart. Does that mean that the vaccine for them is only effective after the 2nd shot? As we are travelling overseas in the
1st week of June, does that mean that my children are not protected even if they have the 1st jab just taken? I have seen 2 doctors who told me 2-3 wks is the best time to take the jab. However, the doctor who gave the vaccine was telling me it is 4 wks for the kids?? Can you clarify?Thank you!

Dr Leslie said...

Yes children under 9 will need two shots if it is their first time taking the flu shot.

When it comes to vaccinations, the earlier the better as the body needs time to mount the immune response. It takes up to two weeks for the body to mount an immune response.

Here is a good reference

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-flu.pdf