Oulu swine flu death not affecting scheduling of H1N1 vaccine

Woman with chronic illness died Saturday

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The first Finnish death linked with swine flu was reported in Oulu on Saturday.
      A 25-year-old woman who had been diagnosed with the virus, and who suffered from another long-term chronic illness, died at Oulu University Central Hospital. The official cause of death remains unknown.
     The patient had been diagnosed with a respiratory infection, which was treated with the Tamiflu antiviral drug a week before her death. The A(H1N1)v virus was confirmed as the cause of the disease.
     
Professor Petri Ruutu of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said the course of the disease was similar to that which has been seen in other European countries.
      Last week 49 people died of the swine flu in Europe, and 1,046 deaths were recorded worldwide. The total number of deaths in Europe since the beginning of the outbreak stands at 274, and on the worldwide scale, it has been nearly 6,000.
      Ruutu says that an epidemic is clearly beginning in Finland.
      “In two weeks there have been 150 infections”, Ruutu says.
      In Finland there have been 522 confirmed cases of swine flu since the emergence of the virus.
     
The spread of the disease is reaching epidemic proportions in the north of Finland. Officials in other parts of the country are waiting.
      “There can be a time delay of three our four weeks among different parts of the country”, Ruutu says.
     Swine flu has been detected in every country of the European Union and EFTA.
     
The accelerating epidemic is being fought with the vaccination programme that is beginning, and the current situation is not changing the vaccination schedule.
      Health care personnel are already being administered the vaccine. They will be followed by pregnant women. The scheduling of the vaccination programme for various population groups varies somewhat from one municipality to another. Priority is given to high-risk groups.
      Terhi Kilpi, head physician at THL says that the main side effect of the vaccines has been that the location of the jab becomes sore in 85 per cent of cases. “The vaccine is safer for everyone than not being vaccinated.”


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Swine flu shots found to cause mild symptoms of disease (22.10.2009)
  Swine flu vaccination programme to keep local authorities busy in coming months (21.9.2009)
  Swine flu vaccinations to start in late October (18.9.2009)

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