Swine flu ‘seasonal’ and less potent

The swine flu, which had caused fears of a global pandemic in 2009, has been downgraded to seasonal influenza as it is no longer a new virus and people have either built immunity to it or taken the vaccine.

Concerns about the threat of a pandemic were due to the fact it was a new virus that was circulating over vast areas, said Charmaine Gauci, director for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

However, H1N1, the technical term for the virus, would not have the same impact as was foreseen last year, she said.

In August, Malta was declared to be in a post-pandemic phase and it stopped the measures taken to prepare for a pandemic, Dr Gauci said. “It was noted that the H1N1 (2009) virus will likely continue to circulate for some years to come, taking on the behaviour of a seasonal influ­enza virus.”

She said people had now built immunity against the virus or had taken the vaccine, which meant its potency would be different.

This year’s influenza vaccine will work against three viruses, one of which is the H1N1, she explained. “We have a safe vaccine which is available and people are encouraged to take it.”

It remained important for countries to maintain vigilant surveillance for influenza outbreaks and flu-like illness and to ensure the availability of measures for preventing and controlling influenza.

Such measures included the continued use of the seasonal vaccines, she said, adding that this year, the free vaccine would also be given to children aged between six months and five years.

Seasonal flu results in hospitalisations and deaths, especially among high-risk groups, mainly the very young, the elderly or those who are chronically ill. Worldwide, these annual epidemics result in about three to five million cases of severe illness and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.

Among healthy adults, the influenza vaccine could prevent 70-90 per cent of influenza-specific illness. Among the elderly, the vaccine reduced severe illnesses and complications by up to 60 per cent and deaths by 80 per cent, said Dr Gauci.

Yet, every year controversy arises over the safety of the influenza vaccine. Last year, the death of a 23-year-old man four days after he took the jab caused some scepticism about its safety due to the unknown cause of death. However, a court inquiry found there was no link to the vaccine.