New vaccine will be available ahead of influenza season
As flu season approaches, pharmaceutical company Sanofi has spoken about the evolving standard of care for the flu, and how new vaccine treatment breakthroughs have performed.
Medical Head Dr Thinus Marais revealed the results of new research and said the flu virus was very clever and able to adapt and mutate very quickly to its external environment.
“A few vaccines that have been available up till now in the South African space have been trivalent influenza vaccines that contain three of the most common circulating strains of influenza, and recently a quadrivalent vaccine has become available, which means there is an additional strain of some of the most common circulating flu.
“There are four strains versus three strains,” he said.
Marais said almost 50% of affected South Africans required hospitalisation for severe illness caused by influenza, which affected between three and five million people worldwide, including over 45 000 South Africans each year.
Read the full story on: IOL.