Destacado virólogo declara que debe esperarse lo inesperado con la Influenza

El mundialmente renombrado virólogo Profesor Albert Osterhaus, declaró a los participantes de la mayor conferencia sobre enfermedades infecciosas en Europa que el brote de Influenza H1N1 es, sin lugar a dudas, el evento más importante de los pasados 40 años en la Influenza humana. Y recalcó que la amenaza del presente H1N1 es bastante seria.

Osterhaus, quien es el Jefe de Virología en el Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, y quien condujo los esfuerzos para identificar la infección humana por la cepa (H5N1) del virus de la influenza aviar, esbozó las tres piedras angulares de la preparación médica de cara a la gripe de origen porcina: buena vigilancia y diagnóstico; tratamiento eficaz/ terapia antiviral; y vacunación, la base de la prevención. Pero también advirtió que debemos estar dispuestos a esperar lo inesperado debido al curso que este virus de la gripe revela.
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Osterhaus was speaking at a late-breaker session jointly organized by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) and The Lancet, which was added to the programme of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) taking place in Helsinki

Addressing the issue of an A H1N1 vaccination, Osterhaus stressed that there was room for improvement in the production of all influenza vaccines. “We have to do better”, he told representatives from the scientific, medical and pharmaceutical industry. “We must improve the influenza vaccine production systems and capacity, regardless of whether we develop an A H1N1 vaccine. Currently we have capacity to produce doses that could protect in the event of a pandemic an estimated 1 billion people – yet with a global population of some 6.7 billion, clearly there is not enough for all.” Osterhaus also stressed the need to improve the seasonal flu vaccine production capacity.

Focusing on the outbreak from a clinician’s perspective, Professor Javier Garau, the new President of ESCMID and Head of Medicine at the Hospital Universitari Mutua de Terrassa in Barcelona, highlighted priorities in the treatment of swine-origin flu. “We know from experience that secondary infections – which in the case of influenza include pneumonia – can be deadly, which means that adequate stockpiles of antibiotics, as well as antivirals and vaccines, must be included as part of our response”.

The Editor of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, John McConnell, said, “We must not underestimate this virus. As Professor Osterhaus reminded us, this outbreak is unlikely to disappear spontaneously so we must be vigilant in monitoring the spread of the virus.”