INFLUENZA
Minnesota's first culture-confirmed influenza case
of the 2002-03 season has been identified in a 2-month-old infant
residing in Hennepin County. The culture was identified as influenza
A/New Caledonia-like (H1N1), a strain that is included in the
year's vaccine. He was hospitalized for several days and recovered.
Infectious diseases remain the number one cause
of death around the world. The new and reemerging microbes increases
the danger to us all. The reality of that threat was dramatized
by worldwide concern that a 1997 outbreak of avian influenza ("bird
flu") in Hong Kong might be the start of the next global
pandemic.
Influenza is a wily adversary that routinely taxes the skills
and resources of the public health community. Influenza is not
caused by a single organism but by a group of related viruses
that are constantly changing. Because the viruses vary so much
from year to year, a new vaccine must be developed for each winter
season.
Looming over the yearly routine of preparing for each flu season
is the threat that a pandemic strain might emerge-a virulent new
type of flu that can span the globe in months and destroy the
world's population--the kind that killed more than 20 million
people in 1918-1919. Such a lethal virus can sweep the world without
warning.
Scientists have done their best to build a sturdy defense against
influenza. A worldwide detection system tracks the yearly changes
in flu viruses. This pays off by giving manufacturers the lead-time
to prepare each year's vaccine. The surveillance system worked
well enough in 1997 to detect the new flu strain in Hong Kong
that many feared might be the next worldwide killer.
Each year, scientists need to characterize the circulating flu
strains early enough for vaccine to be created. They study thousands
of virus samples from dozens of laboratories around the world
to predict which types are likely to dominate the next flu season.
From that knowledge, manufacturers can develop an appropriate
vaccine. Laboratory research makes it possible to understand a
new virus at its most basic level, develop tests to detect infected
persons, and produce large quantities of effective vaccine quickly
and safely.
Delivering influenza vaccine to people at high risk is a yearly
public health priority.
The challenge is to be ready.
Pandemic flu is not the only threat facing us in the next millennium.
Emerging infectious diseases on every level are cropping up all
over. The challenges and opportunities await each of us.
Have you had your flu shot yet? The Department of Health is encouraging
immunizations through March this year. If you still wish to receive
this year's flu shot, it is available in all departments.
