Logo que foi divulgada a epidemia da gripe “suína” no México, divulgamos algumas notícias neste blog. A primeira notícia deu a partida, a segunda indicava a chegada da pandemia, depois como o Google foi usado para prever epidemias e divulgamos um artigo de Esper Kallas, do iii. Até a explicação do Gov. José Serra para a via de contaminação.
Desde 07 de maio, não falávamos no assunto. Tudo parecia correr o curso normal de uma grande epidemia de influenza. Agora aparecem algumas notícias que merecem atenção.
O The Great Beyond, da Nature, relata que o vírus H1N1 da atual pandemia tem similaridade com o vírus da terrível pandemia de 1918 (esta matou cerca de 50 milhões de pessoas).
“Swine flu may resemble 1918 pandemic virus
But one interesting new finding addresses the long-standing question of why some people aged 60 years and older appear to be better able to fend off the virus than younger patients. Previous work from the Centers for Disease Control suggested that exposure to previous flu strains may have conferred some residual immunity (see 'Old seasonal flu antibodies target swine flu virus'). Now, Yoshihiro Kawaoka of Kobe University at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his colleagues have narrowed the time frame during which this exposure may have taken place. Specifically, patients born before 1920 are more likely to produce antibodies capable of neutralizing the new H1N1 swine flu, suggesting that exposure to the 1918 flu or a close relative may be the reason.”
O site do NIH (Research Matters), em 13 de julho, também traz notícias de alerta:
“New Insights Into Novel H1N1
In other work, ... published online ahead of print on July 2, 2009, in Science:
The researchers found that, compared to seasonal H1N1 flu viruses, the novel H1N1 viruses replicated to higher levels in lung tissue and were also more deadly. ...
These recent insights into how novel H1N1 arose and how it spreads will be crucial for stopping a pandemic. "We need to pay careful attention to the evolution of this virus," says Dr. Ram Sasisekharan, who led the MIT research team.”
Bem, nada de alarme maior pois nada indica, até o momento, maior perigo. Contudo, a vigilância deve ser grande, para evitar surpresas desagradáveis.
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