Global Health: Current influenza vaccines still provide protection against severe symptoms
The World Health Organization said that although global influenza levels have been within the expected range so far this season, since October some countries have reported an early start to their influenza seasons, which quickly reached epidemic levels, and some Southern Hemisphere countries have witnessed unusually prolonged influenza seasons.
The organization added, in the words of Dr. Wenqing Zhang, head of the Global Respiratory Threats Unit and Epidemics and Pandemic Management at the World Health Organization, at a press conference in Geneva today. On Tuesday, the emergence and rapid spread of a sub-strain of the known influenza virus (H3N) or (K) was observed for the first time in August in Australia and New Zealand, and since then it has been discovered in more than 30 countries around the world with the exception of South America so far, and Zhang stressed that the current epidemiological data do not indicate an increase in the severity of the disease, although this genetic transformation represents a noticeable development in the virus.
He stressed Influenza viruses change rapidly, which requires updating the composition of the influenza vaccine regularly. He pointed out that the organization follows these changes, assesses the risks associated with them to public health, and makes recommendations regarding the vaccine composition twice a year through an established global system. He pointed out that although this new variant is not part of the current vaccine composition for the Northern Hemisphere season, preliminary evidence indicates that the current seasonal vaccines still provide protection against severe diseases and reduce the risk of hospitalization.
An official warned. The World Health Organization stressed that, with the approaching holiday season, there is a potential risk of an increase in cases of respiratory diseases, and called for making preparedness efforts, including encouraging uptake of vaccination and enhancing the readiness of the health system, and stressed that the organization continues to monitor the situation not only with regard to seasonal influenza, but also with regard to the possibility of bird and swine influenza turning into a pandemic, in cooperation with partners and supporting countries.
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