Swine flu might be back as schools reopen

Even though the usual flu season has ended months back, the swine flu is still on the move in the United States. This is particularly true as far as the summer camps are concerned.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director of respiratory diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, “We expect challenges when people return to school, when kids are congregating together.”

Swine flu doses
Officials are not yet sure as to how many doses of the swine flu vaccine will be on hand by the time the virus spreads again. But they did say that there will be more than a hundred million.

These will be sent to people who are most likely to get affected by the flu, especially pregnant women and health care workers.

The amount of doses available will mainly depend on the spread of the virus, defence provided by a small dose and whether adjuvants are required and harmless to use. Adjuvants are not a part of the American flu vaccines now.

Clinical tests will be conducted to find the answers to the above questions and it will take a couple of months before the results come out, revealed Dr. Jesse L. Goodman, Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Pregnant women and young adults at the highest risk
Children and young adults are likely to be at the highest risk. Even worst affected could be pregnant women as the flu can lead to death in such cases.

Dr. Schuchat advised that pregnant women must get a seasonal flu shot as well as a swine flu shot whenever they are obtainable.

The danger of flu not over yet
A close analysis of the disease in the Southern Hemisphere winter has shown that it is copying the pattern observed in the US and Mexico during the spring season.

Dr. Schuchat said that it might happen that some cities report very few cases while in others there is a spurt in the number of patients afflicted with the flu.

Experts have warned, “The virus isn’t gone, and we fully expect there will be challenges in the fall.”