Time to get protection against flu strains

Islamabad: Epidemiologists and health experts have urged the community particularly the high risk population to get vaccinated against Influenza A disease that appears in winter every year and causes considerable morbidity and mortality.

This is high time for creating awareness among public that prevention from influenza A virus is the best option and people particularly those who can afford must opt for getting themselves vaccinated against the infection since the vaccine is available in the market. The vaccine made available in market against influenza A has been developed from strains of viruses circulating in the world in previous year. The new vaccine comes into market in October each year.

Additional District Health Officer at ICT Health Department Dr Muhammad Najeeb Durrani expressed this while talking to ‘The News’ on importance of prevention from influenza A that may start hitting population in the coming days.

At the same time, the concerned health authorities must direct all public sector hospitals to work out a high level of preparedness to deal with the patients of seasonal flu in the high transmission season by developing standard isolation units, stockpiling of PPEs (personal protective equipment), capacity building in the art of infection control and adopting barrier nursing techniques along with procuring sufficient viral transport media and reagents for laboratories from NIH. Otherwise in case of appearance of increasing number of disease cases and amid media hype, it may become difficult to control the disease, he said.

He said the vaccine gives protection for one year against seasonal flue containing virus developed by mutation of DNA of Human, Avian and Swine influenza viruses. The disease season starts in winter. Health care providers, children under five, pregnant women, elderly and those having co-morbid conditions including heart or kidney disease or those who are immuno-compromised are most at risk and they should get themselves vaccinated at the time, he said.

Dr. Durrani who is Member Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN) said the disease has caused considerable morbidity and mortality in previous three years in the months of December and January. It is the same disease that had affected thousands of people globally and was named as Inluenza A H1 N1 2009 infection and the same virus has somehow or the other become less virulent with mutation of virus and addition of other strains and is now known as Seasonal Flu, the world over, he explained.