H1N1 Flu Updates

H1N1: Consider the Source

To say that there is confusion about the H1N1 virus and the vaccine for it would be a gross understatement.

Is the vaccine safe? Should I get the vaccine? Where can I get the vaccine? Am I in one of the priority groups? These are just some of the questions you may be asking.

Before you start believing everything you hear in the media and elsewhere, consider how the media works. There are thousands of television stations, radio stations, newspapers and magazines in Canada, not to mention websites. For simplicity let’s call them all media outlets. Since H1N1 is on everybody’s mind right now having a story on H1N1 is the best way to get more viewers, listeners or readers, again for simplicity, let’s call them audiences.

The problem for all these media outlets is that having the same story as everyone else doesn’t get them a bigger audience. This is especially true for some of the smaller ones struggling to be bigger ones. The best way to be different is to find someone who will say something different. Ideally this someone should have a “Dr.” in front of their name or a Ph.D. after their name. Whether they are experts in virology (the study of viruses) or lung or liver disease isn’t important.

So now a journalist has something new to report and his or her boss is happy. But what is the journalist to do with this new piece of information. Remember, most journalists have been educated in journalism, politics or English literature, not medicine. And the days of journalist specializing in one area or another are all but gone except at some of the larger outlets. The journalist you are relying on to answer your questions about H1N1 probably was writing about city council yesterday and tomorrow will be writing about renewable energy. How are they to know if what their new found “expert” has told them is true, let alone makes sense?

Journalists work hard and do the best they can, and most do their jobs very well, considering the reality they face everyday.

So, as these journalists will often say, “Consider the source.”

Fortunately for us we have other places to turn to for accurate information about us. There are people with years of education and experience about our disease all around. There are doctors, government agencies, patient organizations and researchers who spend almost all of their time studying and thinking about people just like you.

Who are these people? Where can you find them? You can start with your own doctor or specialist. You rely on them to prescribe treatment all the time, why would you do differently when it comes to your condition and H1N1?

The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends people with chronic health conditions get the H1N1 vaccine. People with the following chronic conditions are more at risk of developing complications from H1N1 infection if they do get sick:

• Heart disease
• Kidney disease
• Asthma and chronic lung disease (like Alpha-1)
• Liver disease (like Alpha-1)
• Diabetes
• Serious obesity
• Diseases or treatments that affect the immune systems such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, organ transplants (like those due to Alpha-1)
• Blood disorders
• Neurological disorders
• Medical conditions where people have difficulty swallowing or are at risk of choking
• Children and adolescents’ with medical conditions treated for long periods with acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin®).
• Pregnant women

If you would like a second opinion, try the Centre for Disease Control in the US, they say the same.

Want an opinion from closer to home? Try your provincial or territorial health authorities you will hear the same advice. Your local health department will tell you the very same thing.

But what about people with lung disease? You ask. Lung Associations across North America will give you the same advice.

Still not convinced? There is one more option. Find a website without the credibility of all the experts listed above, maybe one that wants to sell you vitamins or herbs instead. Or you could take the advice of one of those e-mails appropriately sitting in your junk mail folder.

Just remember one thing; when looking for advice on your health and well being. Consider the source.

August 26, 2009:

Canadian Lung Association issues advice about the H1N1 virus for people with lung disease

Canadians with chronic lung diseases such as Alpha-1 (lung-affected), COPD and asthma could see their symptoms worsen if they pick up the H1N1 virus. They should also get their symptoms under control before the anticipated second wave of the H1N1 virus hits, according to the Canadian Lung Association.

In a conference call on Tuesday August 25th, 2009, Dr. Darcy Marciniuk, head of the division of respirology at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, said now is the time for all Canadians, but especially those with a lung disease, to prepare.

"The symptoms may differ and the severity may be different in people with underlying lung disease but moreover, it may also serve as a precipitant to exacerbate or worsen their underlying lung disease," he said.

Visit the Lung Association’s website for detailed advice that includes telling people with lung diseases to get their symptoms under control so that their lungs are in good condition and able to fight off the H1N1 virus.

The Lung Association recommends people get an "action plan" from their doctor so they know what to do if their condition worsens. There is a template for a plan on its website.

The group also emphasized the importance of people taking their medications to prevent and control their symptoms and of having an extra supply of medicine on hand.

"A key message will be the vaccination when it becomes available, to get in line early, not only for any specific H1N1 vaccination that will become available, but also for the regular flu seasonal vaccination as it becomes available this fall," said Marciniuk.

The regular seasonal flu vaccine will be available in early fall. The new H1N1 vaccine is currently being produced but won't be ready until November. Canada has ordered 50.4 million doses of the new vaccine and is awaiting the results of clinical trials to determine if one or two shots will be needed to provide immunity.

Dr. Ken Scott, from the pandemic preparedness division at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said during the call that officials believe two doses will be necessary, probably 21 days apart.

"We don't know what the attack rate will be this fall. So far this influenza has been a relatively mild illness. We'll keep our fingers crossed and hopefully that's the way it’s going to stay. But we are planning for the worst and I think that's the appropriate thing to do," he said.

People who do contract the H1N1 virus, or other flu viruses, can be treated with antiviral medication if necessary. Tamiflu and Relenza are the two main drugs that are approved in Canada and so far, have been effective against the H1N1 virus. There have been reports of complications with Relenza in people with lung diseases.

August 24, 2009:

The H1N1 Flu and Alpha-1