WHO recommends flu vaccines once a year to prevent swine flu

Kolkata, Mar 6 (PTI) The World Health Organization has now recommended annual vaccination to fight all kinds of seasonal flu including swine flu or the H1N1 influenza. The flu vaccine can protect us against 3 or 4 different flu viruses.

Swine flu has killed more than 1200 people in India as of date and the situation is getting worse with the weather playing havoc.

"It is recommended that people get a flu vaccine even during seasons when drifted viruses are circulating. It's because vaccination can prevent some infections and can reduce serious ailments that can lead to hospitalisation and death," stated the Geneva-based agency.

On the growing number of influenza cases around the world, WHO said, "This season (2014-15), influenza appears to be widespread and relatively severe in many parts of the world mainly because of an antigenic drift in influenza A (H3N2) viruses in the community leading to a mismatch between the Influenza A virus (antigen) in the current northern hemisphere flu vaccine and those circulating in the community. As a consequence, the northern hemisphere seasonal flu vaccines are slightly less effective than in previous years. The problem is emphasised in North America and parts of Europe, where predominantly the A influenza virus is circulating this season.".

According to Dr KK Agarwal, Secretary of the IMA, one of the most common vaccines used is vaccigrip a vaccine made for a three types of flu viruses including the H1N1 virus. The swine flu vaccine that is being currently administered is for the 2014 strain of the H1N1 virus.

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Dr Akshay Chhallani, Chief of ICU and Physician, Wockhardt Hospitals, Vashi, says, There are two types of vaccines a nasal spray and the injectible variant of the same vaccine. In my practice the nasal spray is more commonly used because it is painless, made of live attenuated virus which certain studies have shown are more effective and above all is simple to use. Both these vaccines take about 15 days to become effective and must be administered by a physician.