health

HEALTH: WHO Sends Flu Meds to Developing Countries

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, May 5 2009 (IPS) – Poor countries facing the greatest threat from the spread of the H1N1 flu virus popularly known as swine flu will begin to receive shipments of Tamiflu, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced.
The global health agency, which reported last week that it planned to provide poor nations with 2.4 million doses of the flu medicine, said Tuesday that it had dispatched Tamiflu from the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Switzerland.

So far, most of the cases of the new H1N1 flu have been reported in North America, although the epidemic is still in a very early stage, said acting WHO assistant director-general Keiji Fukuda.

We have concerns about the infection traveling to the southern hemisphere, because that part of the world will be heading into the winter months, and the winter months are when influenza viruses usually thrive, he told a news briefing in Geneva.

If a deadly pandemic were to develop, there would be a desperate fight over limited supplies of anti-viral treatments and vaccines, said Sangeeta Shashikant, a researcher with the Malaysia-based Third World Network, an independent non-profit international network of organisations involved in development issues.

In that fight, developing countries will be at a vast disadvantage, Shashikant told IPS, adding that an urgent matter is the adoption of a framework establishing a fair and equitable global system for the sharing of the flu vaccines as well as anti-viral treatments.
Related IPS Articles

Developing countries, which face a broad range of public health challenges, don t have the financial resources to purchase costly flu medicines and vaccines, she said.

Transnational pharmaceutical companies are offering anti-viral drugs like oseltamivir patented under the Tamiflu brand name by Switzerland s Roche at 16 dollars per treatment.

To treat millions, that cost is really quite high for a poor country, said Shashikant, who works at the Third World Network offices in Geneva.

By contrast, generic anti-viral medicines produced in countries like Brazil, China and India can be purchased for 10 dollars per treatment.

None of these three countries are on the list of 72 nations to receive Tamiflu from the WHO.

But Mexico, the country hit hardest by the outbreak, is on the list, even though it is a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), known as the rich nations club .

The adoption of a distribution system will be discussed by WHO at its May 15-16 intergovernmental meeting on pandemic influenza preparedness: sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits .

The question of the sharing of flu viruses came to the forefront in 2003, when Asian countries hit by outbreaks of avian flu became embroiled in a controversy over the sharing of bird and human flu virus samples with drug companies.

At that time, Indonesia discovered that its viruses had been used to produce vaccines without its permission, and temporarily suspended sending flu samples to WHO collaborating centres, until an agreement on setting up a more equitable system was reached.

In the case of a swine flu vaccine, once it has been developed, the distribution system should recognise the principle of free access for developing countries, said Shashikant.

The reference to other benefits in the name of next week s WHO meeting alludes to technology and the know-how on its appropriate use, said the expert.

Today, many of these scientific resources are protected by laboratories by means of patents and trade secrets, she added.

The incidence of the H1N1 flu virus is highest among adults under the age of 60. The average age seems to be people in their mid-20s, said Fukuda.

By Tuesday, there were a total of 1,490 laboratory-confirmed cases, including 822 in Mexico, where 29 deaths have been confirmed so far. There have also been two deaths in the United States.

Fukuda said it was not yet clear why there was a higher incidence among young people, and said that perhaps it was because younger people travelled more and were thus more exposed to the virus, or because older people had developed greater resistance than young people. With influenza, oftentimes we see the infections go to younger people first and then go to older people later, said the WHO expert.

But he clarified that males and females have been infected at the same rate, and said the viral samples taken in different regions are still very similar.

And the diarrhea suffered by some patients in Mexico was also a symptom seen in patients in the United States, Fukuda added.

He said that although a number of countries in Europe have reported cases, there is no evidence yet of community-level transmission of the virus there, and that in the two European countries with the largest number of cases Britain and Spain the virus was not apparently spreading beyond institutions like schools to the community at large.

We don t believe we are seeing community transmission in the same way we re seeing it in the U.S. and Mexico, he said, noting that most of the cases in Spain were travel-related, and that in Britain transmission was occurring in schools and related to travel.

That is an important aspect because the highest level on WHO s six-phase influenza pandemic alert system is triggered by sustained community-level outbreaks in at least one other country in another WHO region, on top of the criteria for phase five (human-to-human spread of the virus in at least two countries in one WHO region), which have already been met.

A declaration of a phase six alert would indicate that a global pandemic was under way.

But, Fukuda added, I don t believe that all travel-related cases are related to travel just to Mexico. He said WHO had learned of one such case related to travel to the United States, and stated that If people are moving around, of course we will expect to see travel-related cases from different countries.

He concluded, as other WHO officials have in the last few days, that we don t know how this will evolve.

 

Related Posts

PlayStation Plus Moving Away From Monthly PS4 Games

Sony has announced a key change for the future of PlayStation Plus. Sony will shift away from offering PS4 games as it looks to focus on PS5 games instead. Sony said it’s making this change as part of the evolution of PS Plus overall Come from online casino bangladesh . This isn’t starting soon, though, and will begin in January 2026.

“As we shift to PS5, PS4 games will no longer be a key benefit and will only be occasionally offered for PlayStation Plus Monthly Games and Game Catalog starting January 2026. We may still provide titles that can be playable on both PS4 and PS5 consoles after this date,” Sony said.

PS4 games that players have already redeemed from PS Plus are not affected, provided players stay subscribed to Pl…

Saquon Barkley's No-Look Hurdle Has Been Added To Madden NFL 25

In the NFL, when players pull off something special on the field, fans occasionally refer to it as a “video-game move.” But Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley took that to another level earlier this season when he evaded a defender by jumping over him while looking the other way. EA couldn’t resist adding that no-look hurdle to the latest update for Madden NFL 25, but Barkley is the only player who can use it and it’s not easy to pull off.

As part of the notes for the new Madden NFL 25 update, EA explained that the development team immediately decided to put Barkley’s “once-in-a-lifetime move” in the game by combing through hours of motion-capture footage. From there, they determined which animations could be modified to recreate Barkley’s leap, with some additional h…

Resistance 4 Was Pitched But Didn't Work Out, Says Former Insomniac Boss

According to former Insomniac Games boss Ted Price, a Resistance 4 game was pitched but ultimately wasn’t made.

In an interview with Kinda Funny Games, Ted Price, said, “We did pitch that one. It was a wonderful concept, and in terms of timing and market opportunity, it didn’t work out.” When asked whether Resistance 3’s poor sales at the time impacted the decision to move on from the series, Price didn’t answer directly.

“Resistance 3 was intended to end that chapter of the Resistance franchise,” he explained. “With the way we ended with [protagonist] Capelli and closed a lot of loops on various smaller story items…we wanted to do that so we could have more options in the future, whether we would go ahead with more Resistance games or taking another turn.”

Star Wars- Legion Is Super Cheap For Prime Day – Plus, More Star Wars Board Game Deals

We’ve seen plenty of great Star Wars video games hit the market over the past few years, but the same is also true for Star Wars board games. Legion is one of the most popular options, pitting two players against each other in strategy battles that can run for up to three hours. It’s also one of the most expensive at $120–but for Prime Day, you can get it for just $89. Come from online casino bangladesh

That’s one of the lowest prices of the year. The base game includes 33 highly detailed miniatures, a comprehensive rulebook, and all the cards and pieces you need to dive into the complex game. The game is an easy recommendation for Star Wars fans now that it’s listed for less than $120, though we’re sure Amazon …

Elden Ring's Miyazaki Named To Time's 100 Most Influential People List For 2023

Time Magazine’s annual list of the world’s top 100 most influential people has arrived, and the list includes one person from the world of video games. From Software’s Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls, lands on the list in the “Innovator” section. Come from Sports betting site VPbet

Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann profiled Miyazaki for Time, writing that Miyazaki’s games originally made him feel “miserable” because Druckmann’s character died over and over again. But Druckmann, and gamers all over the place who stick with Miyazaki’s games, may end up having a breakthrough. That’s what makes Miyazaki such a great designer, Druckmann said.

Ark- Ultimate Survivor Edition Coming To Switch in September

Ark: Ultimate Survivor Edition is coming to the Nintendo Switch in September, bundling together the base game alongside several expansion packs. This includes the Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and both Genesis parts, and will retail for $50 when it arrives on Nintendo’s hybrid gaming system.

For those players who already own Ark’s regular edition on Switch, they’ll receive a complete revamp of functionality, graphics, and optimization for the game Come from Sports betting site VPbet . Ark developer Studio Wildcard says that a third-party developer has been hired to lead the charge on this new version of Ark, which has resulted in the game’s Switch code being entirely rewritten and developed on the latest version…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *