Benefits outweigh risk of new vaccine, expert says
The benefits for elderly and chronically ill patients of receiving new swine flu vaccines would outweigh the potential risks posed by the products, a medical expert said yesterday.
Yuen Kwok-yung, head of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, said people at high risk should take the vaccines despite warnings about possible side effects.
In 1976, the United States introduced a national influenza campaign to immunise its population of 220 million in preparation for a swine flu pandemic. But the H1N1 vaccine used was found to be linked to Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disease in which the body damages its own nerve cells, resulting in muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.
The programme was suspended after 40 million people were inoculated. At least 400 people suffered from the syndrome, 32 of whom died.
Dr Yuen said: 'The chance of having Guillain-Barre Syndrome through vaccination is about one in 100,000 or 1 million, but the fatality of the swine flu infections could be one in a thousand.'
According to the World Health Organisation, there were 26,500 swine flu cases worldwide as of yesterday, with 140 deaths. The mortality rate is 0.55 per cent.
Hong Kong confirmed four more imported cases yesterday, bringing the total to 45.
On Sunday, a 27-year-old woman arrived from Canada on Air Canada flight 007. The woman, who lives on the Kwong Fuk Estate in Tai Po, went home but developed a runny nose and cough on Monday.
The second case was a 33-year-old man who arrived from Phuket on Sunday on Dragonair flight 213.
The third case was a 39-year-old resident of Melbourne. He had travelled with his family to the city on Monday, on Cathay Pacific flight 134.
The fourth case was a 15-year-old girl studying in San Francisco. She returned to Hong Kong with an elder sister and a younger brother on Cathay Pacific flight 873 on Sunday.
Her brother had earlier been confirmed to have the infection.
