Statement of Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) on Pandemrix® vaccine and narcolepsy
10 February 2011 A statement of the National Institute of Health and Welfare of Finland indicated an increased risk of narcolepsy among children and adolescents vaccinated with Pandemrix®, an adjuvanted vaccine against pandemic influenza A(H1N1) 2009 manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) has reviewed the data and released a statement.
Pandemrix® vaccine and increased risk of narcolepsy
01 February 2010 The National Institute of Health and Welfare of Finland today issued a statement indicating an increased risk of narcolepsy (a rare sleep disorder that causes a person to fall asleep suddenly and unexpectedly) observed among children and adolescents vaccinated with Pandemrix®, an adjuvanted pandemic H1N1 vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.
Increasing influenza activity in the WHO European Region
14 January 2011 Influenza activity is increasing in the WHO European Region, most notably in the north-western part. Several countries have reported severe and fatal cases and the burden of severe influenza has placed considerable strain on critical care services in two western European countries.
Start of influenza season
17 December 2010 Signs of increasing influenza activity in a number of countries indicate the start of the influenza season in the WHO European Region.
Situation update in the European Region
11 March 2010 WHO/Europe publishes a weekly electronic bulletin on influenza activity in the Region and performs periodic analysis of surveillance data provided by the 53 WHO European Member States. This situation update provides an overview of influenza surveillance data from week 40/2009 to week 07/2010 and highlights the main developments related to pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in the Region.
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009: no phase change
24 February 2010 Based on Emergency Committee discussions yesterday, the WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, has determined that the pandemic phase has not changed, so the pandemic alert level remains at phase six. All countries in the WHO European Region report low or medium intensity of influenza activity.
WHO vaccine recommendations for 2010-2011 northern hemisphere influenza season
24 February 2010 Based on available epidemiological and virological data provided to WHO between September 2009 and February 2010, WHO has announced the recommended viruses for use in the influenza vaccine for the 2010-2011 northern hemisphere influenza season.
Vaccine for Azerbaijan
29 January 2010 Thirty-seven countries in the WHO European Region have organized pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine campaigns. Azerbaijan received its first shipment of donated vaccine in early January 2010, and is currently vaccinating target groups including health workers, life support services staff, pregnant women and people with chronic lung disease. WHO has received pledged donations of 199 million doses of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine from countries and manufacturers. Azerbaijan is one of 8 countries eligible in the European Region to receive the donated vaccine.
Donated pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine arrives in Azerbaijan
08 January 2010 Today, Azerbaijan received its first shipment of donated pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine. Vaccination will target health care workers, the staff of life support services, pregnant women, people with a history of chronic lung disease and children aged 14–17. The pre-qualified, inactivated adjuvanted vaccine is produced by GlaxoSmithKline.
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 activity continues despite declining clinical trends
05 January 2010 While pandemic (H1N1) 2009 activity remains high in four countries, Georgia, Poland, Serbia and Ukraine, and some regions of the Russian Federation, clinical respiratory disease activity has declined over the past 3 weeks in 16 countries. A shipment of donated pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine is due to arrive in Azerbaijan this week.
Previous updates
Updates on the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 situation since 24 April 2009
15 countries report high pandemic (H1N1) 2009 activity
15 December 2009 During the period 4–10 December 2009, very high influenza activity was reported in Lithuania, and high activity was reported in 14 other countries: Albania, Estonia, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
High pandemic (H1N1) 2009 activity, particularly in children
30 November 2009 During the period 20–26 November 2009, very high activity was reported in the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation (north-western, Siberian and Volga regions) and Sweden. Albania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation (as a whole), Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland reported high activity during this period, particularly in children up to 15 years of age.
18 countries report high pandemic (H1N1) 2009 activity
24 November 2009 During the period 13 to 20 November 2009, very high pandemic activity was reported in Italy for the first time this season. Norway, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation (Urals region) and Sweden also reported very high activity. Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine reported high pandemic activity during this period.
14 countries report high pandemic (H1N1) 2009 activity
14 November 2009 During the period 5 to 12 November 2009, high or very high pandemic activity has been reported in countries in Scandinavia, eastern Europe and south-eastern Europe. Very high pandemic activity was reported in Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova for the first time.
Health facilities in Ukraine well prepared for pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza
12 November 2009 On Wednesday, 11 November, the last WHO regional investigation team returned to Kyiv. While the teams have yet to finish drawing conclusions, they found health facilities in Ukraine well prepared and highly motivated to deal with the influx of cases.
10 countries report high pandemic (H1N1) 2009 activity
10 November 2009 During the period 27 October to 4 November, very high pandemic activity was reported in Iceland, Ireland and the Russian Federation (Urals region) and high activity in Belarus, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Norway, Italy, the Russian Federation (far eastern, Siberian, north-western and central regions), Sweden and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland only).
WHO staff review pandemic prevention steps in Ukraine
8 November 2009 The WHO team of experts has continued its work in Ukraine over the weekend. While four members continued investigations in Lviv – one of the most affected regions in the country – two others travelled 100 km west of the capital, Kyiv, to Zhytomyr: a medium-sized city and a regional (oblast) capital.
Health workers in Ukraine under pressure, but coping
07 November 2009 An international team of WHO experts is continuing its work in Ukraine, investigating on behalf of the Government an outbreak of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza.