tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
The next wave of swine flu could hit hardest in Glasgow and the Highlands, experts have warned.
Research has found higher levels of immunity to the virus in Edinburgh and Aberdeen compared to Glasgow and Inverness.
Young people in the west and pensioners in the Highlands appear to be particularly vulnerable.
The report?s authors said vaccinating older people in the Inverness area was particularly important as winter approaches.
For the study, leftover blood samples taken from patients in the four cities for a range of health reasons were screened for antibodies to H1N1. The researchers found 42% of those who lived in Aberdeen and 40% of those who lived in Edinburgh were protected against the virus, compared to 27% in Glasgow and 28% in Inverness.
In the 20-29 and 30-39 age groups resilience in Glasgow was particularly low at 22% and 18%, while the over-50s in Inverness appeared to be particularly at risk with just 19% testing positive for enough anti-bodies to fight the illness.
Resistance to influenza builds in the community because people catch the virus and fight it off without necessarily developing severe symptoms.
It is possible older people living in the more remote Inverness region travelled and mixed less than younger residents, and therefore did not come into contact with the virus. However, the low levels of immunity in Glasgow are more difficult to explain.
Dr Oliver Blatchford, a consultant with Health Protection Scotland, suggested that fewer people in Glasgow may have succumbed in the later phases of the pandemic than those living in the east of Scotland, reducing exposure to the virus in the city.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/swine-flu-warning-for-glasgow-and-inverness-1.1037166
Research has found higher levels of immunity to the virus in Edinburgh and Aberdeen compared to Glasgow and Inverness.
Young people in the west and pensioners in the Highlands appear to be particularly vulnerable.
The report?s authors said vaccinating older people in the Inverness area was particularly important as winter approaches.
For the study, leftover blood samples taken from patients in the four cities for a range of health reasons were screened for antibodies to H1N1. The researchers found 42% of those who lived in Aberdeen and 40% of those who lived in Edinburgh were protected against the virus, compared to 27% in Glasgow and 28% in Inverness.
In the 20-29 and 30-39 age groups resilience in Glasgow was particularly low at 22% and 18%, while the over-50s in Inverness appeared to be particularly at risk with just 19% testing positive for enough anti-bodies to fight the illness.
Resistance to influenza builds in the community because people catch the virus and fight it off without necessarily developing severe symptoms.
It is possible older people living in the more remote Inverness region travelled and mixed less than younger residents, and therefore did not come into contact with the virus. However, the low levels of immunity in Glasgow are more difficult to explain.
Dr Oliver Blatchford, a consultant with Health Protection Scotland, suggested that fewer people in Glasgow may have succumbed in the later phases of the pandemic than those living in the east of Scotland, reducing exposure to the virus in the city.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/swine-flu-warning-for-glasgow-and-inverness-1.1037166