Despite a strong health infrastructure and vaccination programs - Australians remain vulnerable to emerging new viruses and existing old ones!
Australia is close to South East Asia, where a combination of high biodiversity, lose contact between humans and animals and changes in agricultural systems , high population densities , migration and rapid transport have made a fertile ground for new viruses. But also declining vaccination rates in Australia, and ignorance of dangers when travelling increase the risk. Resources are still much more sparse in Asia and make response to disease and control of animal reservoirs difficult. There is no passive or active Rabies vaccine available on Bali and 180 Balines died in 2010 alone of Rabies.
A number of viruses like SARS, H5N1 (bird flu) and H1N1 (pandemic swine flu )have emerged from Asia.
While WA had a raging flu season in 2009 , the one in 2010 was back to levels of previous flu seasons. Yet the UK now has full hospitals with Flu complications and we are well aware of the pertussis ( whooping cough) endemic in WA last year. H1N1 is beginning to mutate and might now become more infectious and require modification of used pandemic vaccine. The alarming levels of influenza in the UK have exhausted available stocks of flu vaccine ,the british government now has to make available stock piles of national emergency reserved pandemic vaccine!
The highly volatile genetic set up of RNA viruses makes them so very adaptable. They mutate at every replication, giving them a vast chance to develop useful change and ability to create resistance to drugs , and vaccines and chance to affect humans in new ways. The seasonal flu vaccine has to be newly cultured and filled with particles of new virus strains every year. Viruses can so jump from one species to another examples are HIV with reservoirs in primates , flu strains from waterbirds, Hepatitis C from yet unknown animal reservoir. Destruction of habitats and encroachment of human populations increase this chance presently and in future.
What can be done? Research into reservoir animals in developed countries as Australia is constantly under way, assisted by the improvements in genetic , biologic and epidemiologic science. We can now identify all viruses, understand how they emerge and spread. The World Health Organisation and richer industrial nations need to support the establishment of global scientific infrastructure for disease surveillance particularly in geographic regions where emergence of new viruses is likely, allowing a rapid and coordinated response to any new emerging infection.
We as Australians should be aware of vaccine preventable disease and continue to increase our uptake of routine vaccines already on offer like all the childhood vaccines! All Australians should consider seasonal and pandemic flu vaccine! Every traveller should attend his GP or Travel Clinic 6 weeks prior departure to discuss health and vaccination needs! All parents and grandparents of newborn or planned children should now booster against pertussis .
Sources :
- Eddie Holme , Medicus , 12 2010
- Dr Ian Barr WHO
- Maggie Fox , Medicine today 12 2010
Australia is close to South East Asia, where a combination of high biodiversity, lose contact between humans and animals and changes in agricultural systems , high population densities , migration and rapid transport have made a fertile ground for new viruses. But also declining vaccination rates in Australia, and ignorance of dangers when travelling increase the risk. Resources are still much more sparse in Asia and make response to disease and control of animal reservoirs difficult. There is no passive or active Rabies vaccine available on Bali and 180 Balines died in 2010 alone of Rabies.
A number of viruses like SARS, H5N1 (bird flu) and H1N1 (pandemic swine flu )have emerged from Asia.
While WA had a raging flu season in 2009 , the one in 2010 was back to levels of previous flu seasons. Yet the UK now has full hospitals with Flu complications and we are well aware of the pertussis ( whooping cough) endemic in WA last year. H1N1 is beginning to mutate and might now become more infectious and require modification of used pandemic vaccine. The alarming levels of influenza in the UK have exhausted available stocks of flu vaccine ,the british government now has to make available stock piles of national emergency reserved pandemic vaccine!
The highly volatile genetic set up of RNA viruses makes them so very adaptable. They mutate at every replication, giving them a vast chance to develop useful change and ability to create resistance to drugs , and vaccines and chance to affect humans in new ways. The seasonal flu vaccine has to be newly cultured and filled with particles of new virus strains every year. Viruses can so jump from one species to another examples are HIV with reservoirs in primates , flu strains from waterbirds, Hepatitis C from yet unknown animal reservoir. Destruction of habitats and encroachment of human populations increase this chance presently and in future.
What can be done? Research into reservoir animals in developed countries as Australia is constantly under way, assisted by the improvements in genetic , biologic and epidemiologic science. We can now identify all viruses, understand how they emerge and spread. The World Health Organisation and richer industrial nations need to support the establishment of global scientific infrastructure for disease surveillance particularly in geographic regions where emergence of new viruses is likely, allowing a rapid and coordinated response to any new emerging infection.
We as Australians should be aware of vaccine preventable disease and continue to increase our uptake of routine vaccines already on offer like all the childhood vaccines! All Australians should consider seasonal and pandemic flu vaccine! Every traveller should attend his GP or Travel Clinic 6 weeks prior departure to discuss health and vaccination needs! All parents and grandparents of newborn or planned children should now booster against pertussis .
Sources :
- Eddie Holme , Medicus , 12 2010
- Dr Ian Barr WHO
- Maggie Fox , Medicine today 12 2010
