09/29/2009

Most of Canada suspends flu shots due to study of H1N1 risk
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By Patrick White
Deseret Morning News

OTTAWA, Canada — A "perplexing" Canadian study linking the H1N1 virus to seasonal flu shots is throwing the nation's influenza plans into disarray and straining public faith in the government agencies responsible for protecting Canada's health.

Distributed for peer review last week, the study confounded infectious-disease experts in suggesting that people vaccinated against seasonal flu are twice as likely to catch swine flu. The paper is under peer review, and lead researchers Danuta Skowronski of the British Columbia Center for Disease Control and Gaston De Serres of Laval University must stay mum until it's published. So far, the study's impact is confined to Canada.

Researchers in the United States, Britain and Australia have not reported the same phenomenon.

Marie-Paule Kieny, the World Health Organization's director of vaccine research, said last week the Canadian findings were an international anomaly and could constitute a "study bias."

Met with intense early skepticism both in Canada and abroad, the paper has since persuaded several provincial health agencies to announce hasty suspensions of seasonal flu vaccinations, long-held fixtures of public-health planning.

"It has confused things very badly," said Dr. Ethan Rubinstein, head of adult infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba. "And it has certainly cost us credibility from the public because of conflicting recommendations. Until last week, there had always been much encouragement to get the seasonal flu vaccine."

British Columbia announced Monday that it is suspending seasonal flu shots for anyone under 65 years old, joining Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia in halting the immunizations. Quebec's Health Ministry announced it would postpone vaccinations until January, clearing the autumn months for health professionals to focus on vaccinating against H1N1, which is expected to the more severe influenza strain this season.

"By the time the H1N1 wave is over, there will be ample time to vaccinate for seasonal flu," Rubinstein said.

Other provinces, including Manitoba, are still pondering a response to the research. New Brunswick is a lone holdout, announcing last week it would forge ahead with seasonal flu shots for all residents in October, as originally planned.

An international panel is currently scrutinizing the research data.

"The review process has been expedited, so we're hoping for a response within days," said Roy Wadia, spokesman for the B.C. Center for Disease Control. Rubinstein, who has read the study, said it appears sound. "There are a large number of authors, all of them excellent and credible researchers," he said. "And the sample size is very large ? 12 or 13 million people taken from the central reporting systems in three provinces. The research is solid."