Understanding Swine Flu
Thomas Fekete, M.D., Section Chief, Infectious Diseases at Temple University School of Medicine and Hospital, can break down the minute-by-minute information coming out on swine flu. Whether it’s the latest statistics from the CDC or newspaper headlines, Fekete can explain what is being reported about this still emerging and evolving story.” The normal flu season is the winter season and we see the flu circulate a few weeks with a different strain here and there, and then it’s gone until the next year. But with this, we are seeing it now, afflicting a very different age range and with a much higher mortality rate than you’d expect. So, it’s definitely following different rules, flowing differently with different consequences.”

Preparedness, planning and prevention
Alice Hausman, PhD, directs the Center for Preparedness Research, Education and Practice, a multi-disciplinary center that brings faculty from across the university to address emergency preparedness. Dr. Hausman can address the issues of prevention and personal preparedness. Of the higher number of deaths in Mexico than elsewhere, she says, “The higher numbers of fatalities more than likely stem from a number of factors, including the overall health of those infected, and quick access to a healthcare provider. The known U.S. cases were treated very quickly.”

How the virus works, its spread
Deborah Nelson, PhD, directs the master’s program in epidemiology at the College of Health Professions, and studies the distribution of disease and injury in human populations. Dr. Nelson can talk about the influenza virus, how it’s spread, who is most vulnerable, and can offer observations/suggestions/reactions from a public health standpoint.

How vaccines work
Laszlo Otvos, Research Professor in Biology at Temple University and an expert in vaccine development, can discuss the basic science behind vaccines, how a vaccine for a virus like swine flu would be developed and whether the general flu vaccine would work against swine flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccines are available to prevent swine flu in pigs but not in humans. The seasonal flu vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.

The role of pharmaceuticals
Several antiviral drugs, which had been stockpiled for avian flu, are available as possible treatments for swine flu, said Albert Wertheimer, professor of pharmacy administration, but no one knows with 100 percent certainty if they’ll be effective. Wertheimer, an international authority in pharmacoeconomics and the pharmaceutical industry, can comment on the availability and effectiveness of therapies for swine flu as well as the impact of the current outbreak on pharmaceutical business.

Getting the word out, its effects
Sarah Bass, PhD, associate professor of public health and director of the undergraduate program in public health, has expertise is in risk communication, how information is dessiminated during a pandemic, and the public’s attitudes towards such information, particularly as it applies to vaccinations and quarantines. She can talk about how information has been given to the public thus far, and health information and its relationship to feelings of self efficacy and patient behavior. “The coverage thus far has been a little over the top, especially considering there have been no U.S. deaths. The reported numbers need to be put in perspective: the regular flu kills upwards of 25,000 a year. The potential of a pandemic flu could be devastating if the virus mutates into something more lethal, but I suspect we’ll know a lot more by the end of the week about this.”

Source: Temple University