Health Briefing

A round-up of other health news in brief

Less than one in six get vaccinated for swine flu

LESS THAN one person in six has received the swine flu vaccine, according to figures from the Department of Health and Children.

Though the Government ordered enough vaccines for 3.85 million people, less than 700,000 have availed of it.

A media campaign to highlight that the vaccine is still available started yesterday and is targeted at those most at risk – schoolchildren, the over-65s and pregnant women.

The Government has cancelled orders for 3.7 million doses of the Celvapan vaccine made by Baxter because it has been found that one shot of the Pandemrix vaccine made by GlaxoSmithKline is enough for almost everyone.

The Council of Europe is to begin hearings next week into allegations that the World Health Organisation exaggerated the threat from the H1N1 virus.

A Health Service Executive spokeswoman said a spike in the number of swine flu infections last week showed the risk still exists.

The school vaccination programme has started again after the winter break and the HSE is advising those who want the vaccine to apply for it by the end of this month.

“Though the virus is not as virulent as was first feared, it is still a serious illness for many people. We have had 22 deaths and many people hospitalised in intensive care units. There is no cause for complacency.”

Pain 'spike' after icy spell

A SPIKE in the incidence of chronic pain over the coming weeks has been predicted by an Irish pain expert due to the increase in fractures sustained by people falling during the icy weather.

Dr Declan O’Keeffe, a specialist in pain control at St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin, explained that trauma and fracture of bones was the most common cause of a condition known as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

“Most people get better after fracturing a bone, but a small percentage will find that once they get the plaster off it becomes unbelievably painful,” he said.

Dr Anne Louise Oaklander, professor of neurology at Harvard and an expert on CRPS, will be speaking at the College of Anaesthetists of Ireland on January 29th and 30th. See www.mandcgroup.ie

Campaign aims to reduce stigma around depression

THIS WEEK, Depression Awareness Week (Dawn), aims to reduce the stigma around depression and improve public awareness. Yesterday’s launch, supported by Ray D’Arcy, Eddie Hobbs, Rosanna Davison, Pamela Flood, Aidan Power and Holly White, also marked the 25th anniversary of Aware.

Speaking at the launch, David Carton, chairman of Aware said: “Aware is saying to everyone, young and old, ‘Don’t deal with this on your own’. There are options available to you through www.aware.ie or our helpline 1890-303302, and you can recover from depression.”

More than 400,000 people in Ireland experience depression at any one time.