 |
|
Global Update Indian Pediatrics 2002; 39:409 |
|
News in Brief |
|
Flu vaccine: American babies receive some 20 odd injections as part of the mandatory immunization. As if this were not enough, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has urged pediatricians to use the flu vaccine for babies between 6 months and 2 years before the next flu season begins this fall. It may become compulsory after 3 years pending further studies. The recommendation comes in the wake of 2 studies both of which have analyzed the morbidity of influenza virus in thousands of children upto 18 years of age attending various health care cooperative plans in USA. Children below 2 years are 12 times more likely to get admitted with flu than those above 5 years. The morbidity in infants due to flu is comparable to that in adults more than 65 years, and other high risk groups such as health care workers, pregnant women, diabetics and patients with chronic lung disease in whom this vaccine is currently advised (eBMJ 2 March 2002). Disease Watch Kala Azar: If one follows the statistics of any community health problem in India, one is destined to be a cynic. The idealistic spirit of the medical student, that things can be changed for the better dies a slow but sure death with time. Kala Azar is no exception. Ninety percent of the 5 lakh new cases of Kala Azar occur in 4 countries- India, Bangladesh, Brazil and Sudan. Of these 60% of Indian patients are in Bihar and less than 10% receive treatment. Drug resistance to Sodium Antimony Gluconate is rising and the second line drug amphotericin is 10 times costlier. What is new? The Government has planned to reduce infections by 25% by 2005 and eradicate the disease by 2012 (e BMJ 2 March 2002). Polio: In 1999, both South and North America were declared polio free. Then an epidemic of polio broke out in Hispaniola, an island shared by the Dominic Republic and Haiti. Two died and 12 children became lame. Genetic sequencing of the virus, has revealed amazing information. Many segments of the viral isolates genetic sequence are not part of the polio virus itself. It has been picked from several entero viruses that inhabit the normal gut. It is suspected that what happened was that the vaccine virus of some particular child, vaccinated about a year previously, picked up entero virus sequences as it moved from person to person, till it regained it’s ability for virulence. Normally when the wild virus is in circulation, natural immunity to polio prevents the movement of the virus from person to person. But when there is a big susceptible population, as in the final stages of polio eradication in a community, the risk of vaccine viral disease becomes important. The use of IPV then may be appropriate (15 March 2002, http://www.nature.com). Gouri Rao Passi, |
