All About Influenza

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Sunday March 23, 2008

A common danger




The flu season is back, or did it ever go away? In the first of this two-part series on influenza, we look at why we should pay more attention to the flu.

ANYTHING that has a dedicated website by the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US, with over a hundred links warrants a second glance.  

Seasonal influenza, endearingly called the flu, not only has a website dedicated to it by the CDC, it scored whopping 18 million hits if you Google 搃nfluenza

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In a domino effect, the flu may be the start of something more sinister in the elderly.  

For instance, other infection may occur and underlying medical conditions such as heart disease may be exacerbated.

揟he moment someone old gets the flu virus, the next thing he will get are other (bacterial) infections because the immune system has been further weakened,

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Sunday March 30, 2008
What a jab
By LIM WEY WEN



The flu may be dangerous, but there are ways to prevent and treat it. In the final part of this two-part series on influenza, we look at the prevention and treatment of influenza.

THE flight attendant holding two big aerosol cans of disinfectant looked a little scary, but it was only standard procedure.
Ten minutes away from Kuala Lumpur, a fellow journalist, along with other passengers on a flight back from Hong Kong recently, were sprayed with minute droplets of disinfectant.

They were told that it was part of the airlines

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Studies have shown that influenza can bring potential
complications to the very young, elderly, and those with
underlying chronic diseases. Hence, experts recommend
that anyone who is at risk should be vaccinated.

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Sunday March 30, 2008
Clearing the air



People who are allergic to eggs, egg products or to any component of the vaccine shouldn抰 get the vaccine as the influenza strains in the vaccine are incubated in eggs. - Reuters photo


Myth: The vaccine can cause influenza.
Fact: The influenza vaccine that is injected into the muscle is made from inactivated (or killed) viruses.
This means that people cannot get influenza from the vaccine.

Myth: The side effects of the vaccine are worse than influenza.
Fact: Serious problems from the influenza vaccine are very rare. The most common side effect that a person is likely to experience is soreness where the injection was given.
This usually goes away after a day or two. However, there are people who should not be given influenza vaccine. These are:

Infants less than six months of age.
People who are allergic to eggs, egg products or to any component of the vaccine.
Anyone with a history of Gullain-Barre syndrome.
Anyone who is sick and has a fever; in this instance, influenza vaccination should be rescheduled.


Myth: Only old people need influenza vaccine.
Fact: People of all ages can get influenza. Anyone with a chronic medical condition like asthma, diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease needs to be vaccinated.
Influenza vaccination is also recommended for all children six to 59 months of age and close contacts and caregivers of these young children.

Myth: The influenza vaccine doesn抰 work.
Fact: The influenza vaccine prevents illness in approximately 77% to 91% of children (one to 16 years old). It is possible for some people to still get influenza even after getting vaccinated. This may occur because a person is exposed to the influenza virus right before getting vaccinated or before the vaccine has taken effect.
However, these people usually get a milder case of influenza. Remember it can take up to two weeks for your body to develop protective antibodies against influenza. During that time, you are still at risk of getting influenza.

Myth: Getting the influenza vaccine every year isn抰 necessary.
Fact: Strains of the influenza virus change every year, and a new influenza vaccine is developed to match these specific strains and stop their ability to cause infection.
In addition, after you get vaccinated, your immunity declines over time. So the vaccination you had last year will not provide protection against this year抯 influenza virus.

Myth: The influenza vaccine makes asthma worse
Fact: A study conducted by the American Lung Association in over 2,000 children and adults (three to 64 years old) with asthma demonstrated that the influenza vaccine does not worsen asthma. Given the seriousness of influenza and the findings of this study, people with asthma should receive the influenza vaccine every year.

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Influenza boleh bawa maut
Oleh Hafizah Iszahanid
Masalah jangkitan pernafasan memang wujud di negara ini dan berpotensi menjadi wabak pembunuh

INFLUENZA atau masalah jangkitan pernafasan adalah penyakit yang mudah merebak dan jika menyerang kanak-kanak, ia mengambil masa lama untuk sembuh.

Ramai doktor menganggap influenza tidak berlaku di Malaysia, kerana negara ini adalah negara tropika yang tidak mengalami musim sejuk. Sebab itu mereka tidak menyarankan kepada golongan berisiko dan warga emas mengambil vaksin influenz.

Kajian yang diketuai Ketua Jabatan Perubatan Mikrobiologi dan Imunologi, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Prof Datin Dr Che Ilina Che Isahak, mendapati penyakit itu memang wujud di negara ini dan berpotensi menjadi wabak yang meragut nyawa.

Influenza mencapai kemuncaknya di negara ini antara April dan Jun, selain Oktober dan Disember setiap tahun.

Sejak dulu lagi, influenza berupaya menjadi pandemik yang meragut nyawa. Laporan tahunan Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia (WHO) menyebut antara lima hingga 15 peratus populasi dunia terjejas dengan masalah influenza.

Setiap tahun, antara 3 hingga 5 juta kes influenza yang sederhana dan kronik dicatatkan dengan kematian antara 250,000 dan 500,000 orang di seluruh dunia.

Prof Dr Che Ilina berkata, influenza walaupun kerap disamakan dengan selesema, ia adalah dua masalah kesihatan yang berbeza kerana masalah jangkitan pernafasan terjadi disebabkan virus influenza yang boleh berlaku pada tahap biasa hingga peringkat serius yang membawa maut.

揅ontoh, jika warga tua, kanak-kanak, pesakit kardiovaskular, buah pinggang dan diabetes diserang influenza, mereka kemungkinan menemui maut,

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22/06/2008

A.S.A.P mengimbas kemajuan lebih 15 tahun dan meninjau masa depan - penyakit berjangkit di dalam dunia hari ini

Penyakit berjangkit mengakibatkan lebih banyak kematian di dunia pada masa ini berbanding penyakit-penyakit lain. Namun dalam tempoh 15 tahun dan ekoran kemajuan dalam bidang perubatan, kita kini lebih berupaya mencegah banyak penyakit yang dulunya dianggap boleh membawa maut.

Para penceramah utama Kongres Antarabangsa Penyakit-penyakit Berjangkit (ICID) telah berkongsi pendapat bersama Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal disease prevention (A.S.A.P). Ikuti pandangan mereka dalam bentuk soal jawab mengenai isu-isu berkaitan.

PENINGKATAN PANDEMIK INFLUENZA

Profesor Keith Klugman (KK)