Which Flu Will Be the One To Hit Here?

By 250 News

Every year,  the nation prepares vaccine for three different strains of flu. This year, the vaccines are for "A-Wisconsin", "A-New Caledonia" and "B Malaysia".

Which one will be the dominant flu in our region?  That’s difficult to pinpoint says Northern Health’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Lorna Medd.  "We know last season that a B flu was  the predominant strain at the end of the flu season, so  it may be that we will start the season with more B cases, but it is pretty much a  guessing game".

Medd says a couple of years ago  the "A-Sydney" strain wasn’t expected but it surfaced anyway, and then there was the season when a flu that was anticipated was especially hard on children.

We can  prepare for our flu season by what is surfacing through the winter in the southern hemisphere, and so far, says Medd, the experts tell her there hasn’t been any flu that seems to be  presenting anything unusual.

What is a little different this year is that  vaccine development is a little behind schedule.  "There has been some difficulty getting one of the strains to propagate in the lab setting" says Dr. Medd.  That means delivery of vaccines will be a little later than expected this year, with  flu vaccine clinics 2-3 weeks later than  what has been experienced in the past.

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us