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March 2016 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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MAKERS
Flu Vaccines for 2016
Both trivalent (three component)
and quadrivalent (four component)
vaccines will be available this year. These
can be administered intramuscularly
(tri- or quadrivalent); intradermally
(quadrivalent); by nasal spray
(quadrivalent); and via jet injector (for
just one trivalent vaccine, AFLURIA).
The most common flu viruses are
influenza A (H1N1) and H3N2
viruses and influenza B viruses. This
season, the vaccines protect against the
following viruses: A/California/7/2009
(H1Ni)pmd09-like virus, A/
Switzerland/9715293/2013 (H3N2)like virus and B/Phuket/3073/2013like virus (this is a B/Yamagata lineage
virus). The quadrivalent vaccines
additionally protect against another B
virus, B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus,
a B/Victoria lineage virus. Vaccines for
the Southern Hemisphere are slightly
different with the addition of an A/
Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2-like
virus). Keep this in mind if you travel to
the region.
Zika Virus Spreading
Through Sexual Contact
The Zika virus from mosquitos has
been strongly suspected of causing a
surge in microcephaly (infants born
with abnormally small heads) cases
in Brazil since last year. Researchers
believe pregnant women bitten by
an infected mosquito, especially in
the first trimester, face a higher risk
of having children with birth defects.
In children and adults, the Zika virus
merely presents flu-like symptoms.
Now, scientists have discovered that
those infected with Zika can transmit
the virus during sex. At the end of
January, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention was aware of one
reported case of sexual transmission
of Zika and another case of the virus
being present in a man’s semen two
weeks after it had disappeared from
his blood. Another person in Dallas
County, Texas, was infected with Zika
through sexual contact with a person
who had traveled to Venezuela in the
beginning of February. The World
Health Organization has declared Zika
to be an international health emergency
and warns the virus may cause up to 4
million cases in the Americas.
@healthykentucky