FED: Swine flu not the next "killer" Spanish flu: expert
By Danny Rose, Medical Writer27 Apr 2009 2:37 PM
Subject: FED: Swine flu not the next "killer" Spanish flu: expert FED: Swine flu not the next "killer" Spanish flu: expert
SYDNEY, April 27 AAP - Despite its rapid spread, an expert says swine flu will "not be like the big killer, the Spanish Flu" which claimed 50 million lives.
Professor Robert Booy, head of clinical research at the National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance (NCIRS), says swine flu may bloom into a worldwide outbreak but government and medical science were far more capable than in 1918.
It is estimated 20 to 40 per cent of the world's population was struck down by the Spanish Influenza pandemic, the catastrophe against which all modern pandemics are measured.
"Time will tell and quite possibly we will know very soon," Prof Booy said on the question of whether the swine flu outbreak could also go global.
"(But) even if, or when, a pandemic occurs, it will not be like the big killer, the Spanish Flu ... we are just so much better prepared this time.
"We have highly effective drug therapy and also the wherewithal to produce a vaccine."
Prof Booy said pandemic planning had been a major "whole of government" issue in Australia for more than five years, and the nation's stockpile of antivirals was on a par with the best in the world.
"Intensive care is light years more advanced and we understand so much better the value of simple measures like hand-washing, mask use, avoidance of crowds and quarantine," Prof Booy said.
The Spanish flu was notorious for striking down people in their prime - the leading group at risk of contracting the virus and dying from it were those aged 20 to 50.
Early results from Mexico suggest the current outbreak was also causing fatalities among previously healthy adults, but Prof Booy said it was too early to draw any link.
"It may indicate that older people have immunity from previous influenza infections providing them protection," he said.
"Alternatively and perhaps additionally, influenza may also be prominent in young people and children simply because they mix so much more at schools, universities, parties, sports events and so on."
Prof Booy said Australians at high risk of seasonal human influenza - the elderly, pregnant women and those with chronic medical conditions - should see their doctor about getting an influenza vaccination.
Whether this would offer any "crossover" protection against swine flu was unknown but it could be "the difference between falling ill and perishing" from it, he said.
Prof Booy said the new swine flu strain was able to be killed off in infected people with modern anti-viral drugs, including Zanamavir.
"Australia is fortunate in both having a large local stockpile as well as the capacity to manufacture Zanamivir here," he said.
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FED: Swine flu not the next "killer" Spanish flu: expert