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Seniors' Avian Flu Alert
U.S. Now Has 26 Million Avian Flu Antiviral
Treatments to Fight Pandemic
Death toll at 27 in first three months of 2006,
compared to 44 in all of 2005
March 23, 2006 - HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt
yesterday
announced additional purchases of six million antiviral drug treatments
that could be used in the event of a potential influenza pandemic. With
these purchases, the Strategic National Stockpile will have a total of
26 million treatment courses of antiviral drugs for distribution to the
states when an influenza pandemic is deemed to be imminent. Deaths
worldwide from the feared Avian Flu or Bird Flu have now reached 27
compared to 44 for all of last year, according to the World Health
Organization.
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FLU 2005-06 |
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HHS has ordered 2.2 million more treatment courses
of antiviral drug zanamivir (Relenza(R)) from GlaxoSmithKline and 3.8
million more treatment courses of oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) from
Roche.
"Our ultimate goal is to stockpile sufficient
quantities of antiviral drugs to treat 25% of the U.S. population,"
Secretary Leavitt said. "We also hope these purchases will stimulate
development of expanded domestic production capacity in order to
accommodate subsequent needs through normal commercial transactions."
President Bush has outlined a coordinated
government strategy that includes establishing the new International
Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, stockpiling antiviral
medications, enhancing domestic capacity to develop and manufacture
influenza vaccines and dose-sparing technology, expanding early-warning
systems domestically and abroad and new funding and initiatives for
local and state level preparedness.
As part of the Administration's goal to enhance
state and local pandemic preparedness, HHS senior officials now have
participated at summits in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
To date, pandemic preparedness planning summits
have been held in Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, District of
Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South
Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
More information on pandemic preparedness,
including a list of 12 summits planned through March 31 is available on
the newly revised
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/.
There is also more news and information for senior
citizens on influenza at the SeniorJournal.com flu center -
click here
Other Flu News
● WHO Gives Nod to Tamiflu for treatment,
prevention
The World Health Organization has issued its
opinion that Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is recommended for use for both
treatment and prevention of influenza.
● FDA Prohibits Use of Antiviral Drugs in Poultry
to Help Keep Drugs Effective for Humans
The Food and Drug Administration today published a
rule to prohibit the use in poultry of two classes of approved human
antiviral drugs in treating influenza. FDA is taking this measure to
help preserve the effectiveness of these drugs for treating or
preventing influenza infections in humans. The order prohibits the
extralabel use by veterinarians of anti-influenza adamantane (amantadine
and rimantadine) and neuraminidase inhibitor (oseltamivir and zanamivir)
drugs in chickens, turkeys, and ducks.
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Cumulative Number of Confirmed
Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO as of
March 21, 2006 |
|
| |
|
Country
|
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
Total |
|
cases |
deaths |
cases |
deaths |
cases |
deaths |
cases |
deaths |
cases |
deaths |
|
Azerbaijan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
5 |
7 |
5 |
|
Cambodia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
|
China |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
5 |
7 |
5 |
15 |
10 |
|
Indonesia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
11 |
12 |
11 |
29 |
22 |
|
Iraq |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Thailand |
0 |
0 |
17 |
12 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
22 |
14 |
|
Turkey |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
4 |
12 |
4 |
|
Viet Nam |
3 |
3 |
29 |
20 |
61 |
19 |
0 |
0 |
93 |
42 |
|
Total |
3 |
3 |
46 |
32 |
95 |
41 |
40 |
27 |
184 |
103 |
|
|
| |
Total number of
cases includes deaths. WHO reports only laboratory-confirmed
cases. |
|
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