Mutating flu viruses linked to havoc at A&E departments

Flu rates have now reached their highest level than at any time in the previous three years, and doctors are blaming mutated forms of the flu virus that are not being protected against with the seasonal winter flu jab.

Strains of flu virus commonly naturally mutate, with changes being witnessed this year already within the US and Australia.

The primary flu virus rife this winter has been found to be influenza A type H3N2, appearing to disproportionately impacting the elderly.

On Wednesday David Cameron was speaking in Manchester and highlighted an increasing number of elderly patients as one of the main causes of pressure on hospital A&E departments, with one hospital even drafting in help from the Red Cross, as NHS capacity is pushed to its limits.

The prime minister noted how it was “particularly striking” that over a million more over-65s were seeking help at A&E in comparison to just four years ago, blaming a lack of “clarity” regarding GP access.

Cameron’s comments came as the latest GP Patient Survey for England show that almost 15% of patients could not get an appointment with their GP at the previous time of trying, though 78% of people who completed the survey still claimed they would recommend their GP surgery.

The US Centres of Disease Control has released a warning that half of the H3N2 viruses they have analysed were discovered to be “drifted strains” from the one covered by the winter flu jab. Public Health England (PHE) have tested 24 samples so far, with five found to be drifted strains. This means the flu type has mutated, resulting in the vaccines becoming less effective.

PHE say that more hospitals and GP surgeries are reporting a larger number of flu cases in comparison to that of the peak periods of the last three winters. It is this massive spike which is probably responsible for the severe pressures felt by hospitals up and down the country this week, but health officials believe the problems could continue to worsen for another eight weeks yet.

Dr Richard Pebody, head of seasonal flu surveillance at Public Health England, commented: “Overall, levels are now higher than the peak of flu activity observed in the last three seasons, but have not reached the levels seen in the last notable seasons of 2010/11 and 2008/09.”

Dr Ben Marshall, a specialist in respiratory medicine at Southampton General Hospital, says the number of patients admitted into hospital with respiratory illnesses has now doubled.
Asthma and COPD are two respiratory problems which can be significantly worsened by flu, sometimes resulting in serious complications that need hospital treatment.

The injected flu vaccine is available free of cost on NHS to those deemed to be high risk. This is to protect them against flu and the serious complications that can arise from it.
Those that qualify for a free flu jab include:

. People 65 years of age or over.
. Pregnant women.
. People with certain medical conditions.
. People living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care facility.
. Those receiving a carer’s allowance, or the main carer for an elderly or disabled person who could. be at further risk if the carer was to become ill.
. Healthcare workers with direct patient contact or a social care worker.

Dr Tristan Clark, a specialist in infectious diseases and respiratory viruses at Southampton General Hospital, said: “We can sometimes predict what a flu season is going to be like based on the activity in the southern hemisphere before it reaches north of the equator and we know countries like Australia had a bad year.

“Unfortunately, since the vaccine was prepared, the influenza A H3 strain has changed significantly, making the vaccine less effective at protecting against the virus – something we occasionally see.”
People are still being advised to get vaccinated to offer some degree of protection, especially those with chronic illnesses who have yet to get the jab. Moreover, antiviral treatment Tamiflu is still active against all strains of the flu and works to lessen the severity of symptoms, particularly when taken early at an early stage of the condition.

Scientists develop obesity pill to ‘replace treadmill’

With Christmas Day now just a fortnight away, it would not be a surprise if much of the population found their pants becoming ever so tighter in the coming weeks, as the high calorie content of festive treats like mince pies, Christmas pudding and novelty chocolate foods start to creep onto the waistline.

To further show this point, a 2011 survey conducted by MSN found that the average Brit will consume two or three Christmas dinner servings on the day itself, taking in 2,300 calories in the process. This equates to a staggering 115% of the recommended daily intake for women and 92% for men.

It seems a lot of people are worried about the extra calories and are preparing for the possibility of weight gain this year as Medical Specialists® Pharmacy have seen a massive surge in the number of people coming to them seeking help with losing weight and enquiring about the obesity treatments available such as Xenical and Orlistat. Medical Specialists® have also witnessed a huge increase in requests for treatment for conditions usually worsened by the cold weather such as influenza and asthma.

However, it is still weight gain that remains as the primary worry for much of the nation over the festive period, but there has been good news this week for those trying to lose weight. It has emerged that scientists in America are developing a pill that could help the body to burn off excess fat and its creators even claim that “it could one day replace the treadmill”.

Researchers based at Harvard University have found a way to trigger a molecule that can convert ‘bad’ white fat cells into ‘good’ brown cells that help to burn energy.

When a person consumes too many calories and doesn’t burn off a sufficient amount, adult stem cells in the body start to generate a higher amount of white fat cells, leading to a flabbier physique, especially evident around the stomach and hips.

Brown fat cells on the other hand, are used by the body to burn energy and produce heat. The colder the body becomes, the higher amount of brown fat cells begin to get used up, and hence they are generally easier to get rid of compared to the white cells. Not only this, but the brown cells also work to reduce both the size and numbers of their white counterparts.

Researchers say they have managed to pinpoint which molecule is responsible for turning stem cells white or brown, and state that by increasing the molecule, this will help the body to generate more brown cells, instead of white.

Associate professor Chad Cowan, at Harvard, said: “What we were really impressed by is that there are some compounds that have this same kind of effect when they are administered to animals, but when you remove them, the effect goes away.

“But what we saw here was a stable conversion of the white fat cells to brown cells. You’re constantly replenishing your fat tissue so if you were on a medication to convert the cells, each new fat cell would be more metabolically active and would convert to brown fat over time.”

The scientists involved with the research go on to claim that this decreases the risk of a person developing health conditions associated with a fat build-up, such as type 2 diabetes.

A drug called tofacitinib, which helps to trigger the molecule for cell conversion is actually already approved, but for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, it remains to be seen exactly when a pill for obesity that contains the molecule will be approved, with fears it could damage the immune system.

Professor Cowan warned the compounds “target the same molecule, and that molecule plays a role in the inflammatory response”.

He stressed: “So if you administered them for a long time, the person taking them could become immune compromised”, and his team added that despite the fact any future obesity pill may help people to remain trim, it would still not be a sufficient substitute for the other health benefits to be gained from engaging in regular exercise.

GPs can prescribe Tamiflu to fight influenza

The Health Protection Agency’s (HPA) recently released health data show that GP consultations for influenza have risen – particularly amongst children and young people.

The HPA figures show that for the week prior to Christmas, weekly primary care consultation rates across England had increased to 27.4 per 100,000 people. Encouragingly, other countries in the UK had witness similar increases for the same period, with a rate of 18.9 per 100,000 in Wales, 19.7 per 100,000 in Scotland and 25.5 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.

Flu-like symptoms were predominantly reported in the 5-14 year olds – double those of overall levels. Other HPA information show that also in the week before Christmas, 45 acute respiratory disease outbreaks had occurred; 43 within schools and the other 2 in care homes.

Influenza or ‘flu’ as it is commonly known as is a respiratory illness associated with infection by influenza virus. Common symptoms usually make an appearance roughly 2 days after infection and include fever, headache, cough, sore throat, aching muscles and joints. The condition was first identified in 1933, and there are main three types determined: Influenza A, B, and C.

Dr Richard Pebody, head of seasonal flu surveillance at the HPA commented that the latest flu figures were ‘encouraging’, saying: “The latest vaccine uptake figures for one of the ‘at risk’ groups – the over 65 age group – are encouraging, with more than 70 percent taking up the offer of the flu vaccine. Among those in an ‘at risk’ group under 65 years of age, uptake is just under 50 percent and around 40 percent of pregnant women and healthcare workers have accepted the offer of vaccination this season.”

The HPA stats come in the same week that it emerged The Department of Health (DoH) have informed GPs they  can prescribe antivirals such as Tamiflu for influenza to the groups of people who are most at risk of developing complications from contracting flu. High-risk people include pregnant women and those over the age of 65.

However, according to The DoH, there is a ‘substantial likelihood’ that schoolchildren across the UK showing with influenza-like symptoms had the disease.  NHS chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies said: “The most recent surveillance data indicate that there is now a substantial likelihood that people, including children in schools, presenting with an influenza-like illness are infected with an influenza virus.”

This follows action from The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, who last Friday extended the use of Tamiflu to children as young as 2 weeks old who have shown flu symptoms for no more than two days. The U.S. approval means that Tamiflu is the only prescription oral antiviral medication approved to treat patients of all ages; infants two weeks of age all the way to the elderly
Roche’s Tamiflu works at lessening the duration and severity of influenza by blocking the virus from replicating within the body. It belongs to a group of medicines named ‘neuraminidase inhibitors’.

These medicines prevent the influenza virus from spreading inside the body and so help to ease or prevent the symptoms arising from the influenza virus infection. Tamiflu was first given FDA approval in the United States back in 1999, so its existence is not a new revelation. However, the drug came to worldwide prominence a decade later in 2009 due to the deadly H1N1 swine flu epidemic, hitting peak sales of an incredible $3 billion because of the epidemic.

Tamiflu is available today through Medical Specialists Pharmacy from as little as £21.98 per pack after we dramatically lowered the price of Tamiflu earlier in the year to help out new and existing patients during this difficult recession.

Animal owners warned they could pass the flu to their pets

With the weather starting to change as we approach the winter months, temperatures are noticeably dropping, scarves and gloves are being dusted off for use and unfortunately many of us will be struck down with colds and influenza.

If you are unwell then there is a good chance you will possibly want to get cosy in front of your fire and cuddle up to your pet dog or cat, however – think again. Scientists in the United States are now claiming that humans could pass on their flu infection to our furry friends. Though the risk is relatively small, they say that awareness needs to be raised about the generally unknown condition ‘reverse zoonosis’, but it has caused some degree of concern amongst health experts and veterinarians.

Influenza is a respiratory illness, more serious than a typical common cold. People are at risk of getting the flu throughout the year, but are more at risk during the winter months, hence where the name ‘seasonal flu’ is spawned from. The symptoms of the condition include aching muscles and joints, coughing, fever, headache and a sore throat. Flu can be so debilitating that often the sufferer is confined to their bed for a few days due to exhaustion.

In the UK alone there are an estimated 600 deaths annually due to complications arising from seasonal flu. This figure can skyrocket to about 13,000 fatalities during an epidemic, such as the swine flu outbreak of 2009.

The swine flu was a new variant of the common H1N1 virus (responsible for the majority of flu cases) and was so deadly partly because people didn’t have much of an immunity to it as it had not previously been discovered in humans or pigs. The pandemic was curbed to a massive extent with the wonder medication Tamiflu, which prevents influenza virus from spreading inside the body and helps to ease or prevent the symptoms arising from the influenza virus infection.

It is also the H1N1 flu strain that is being seen in human to pet transmissions. Christiane Loehr, an associate professor at Oregon State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says that ever since the 1970s experts have been aware that cats are at risk of catching the flu and in the year 2000 it became apparent that dogs could get it as well. Despite this, there was incredibly little in the way of reported instances of such occurrences happening.

Approximately 80 to 100 million households in the U.S. have a cat or dog, and 20 million in the UK. With such a high number of pets, researchers warn it may be best to distance ourselves from our pets when we next get struck down with symptoms of the flu.

The first confirmed case of a fatal human to cat transmission happened in Oregon in 2009 says Professor Loehr, with the pandemic H1N1 virus being the culprit. The cat’s owner had become seriously unwell from the flu and had to be taken to hospital. Whilst in hospital, her cat also became ill with the flu and subsequently died due to pneumonia caused by the H1N1 virus.

Since this tragic event, health experts have witnessed 13 cats and one dog with pandemic H1N1 infection during 2011 to 2012 that came about from human transmission. Even some pet ferrets have been found to be infected and a few died.

Professor Loehr is currently conducting further research into reverse zoonosis. She says, “We worry a lot about zoonosis, the transmission of diseases from animals to people. But most people don’t realize that humans can also pass diseases to animals, and this raises questions and concerns about mutations, new viral forms and evolving diseases that may potentially be zoonotic. And, of course, there is concern about the health of the animals. It’s reasonable to assume there are many more cases of this than we know about, and we want to learn more. Any time you have infection of a virus into a new species, it’s a concern, a black box of uncertainty. We don’t know for sure what the implications might be, but we do think this deserves more attention.”