Israel signs NIS 7 million swine flu vaccine deal

The Health Ministry on Friday signed a NIS 7 million deal with French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur for future swine flu vaccines.

The agreement, which will bring the first doses of the vaccine to the general public in January 2010, was approved Thursday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman.

The government will allocate special funds for the vaccine instead of taking money from the existing budget for subsidized medicines. The Health Ministry will decide at a later date if it needs to order fewer doses, but the contract does allow for a reduction in the order.

At Thursday's meeting, the three discussed alternatives to an immediate order from pharmaceutical companies that are developing the vaccine.

The Health Ministry has negotiated over the past two weeks with Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Pasteur and Baxter - all of which manufacture the regular flu vaccine approved for use in Israel - along with American company MedImmune, whose flu vaccine is not approved for use here.

Netanyahu had decided last week to purchase swine flu vaccine for the entire population, at a cost of NIS 450 million.

"The vaccine against this flu strain is still in development," the Prime Minister's Office stressed.

Friday also saw the fifth Israeli swine flu death, as a 50-year-old Jerusalem man succumbed to complications from the disease.

The man, who suffered from a number of chronic diseases including diabetes and high blood pressure, was hospitalized in an intensive care unit last week with severe pneumonia.

Meanwhile, the Magen David emergency service has raised its alert in light of the spreading pandemic. As of Sunday, all of the service's volunteers and staff will receive special training and equipment to deal specifically with the disease.

A 12-year-old girl from the town of Bnei Brak became the fourth Israeli to die of swine flu on Wednesday.

The girl, who suffered from a genetic disorder known as Rett Syndrome, was hospitalized two weeks before after contracting swine flu. She received treatment at Schneider Children's Hospital and was later released after making a full recovery.

This past Sunday, the girl returned to the hospital after falling ill with a fever. She was sent home after receiving treatment and was told to return to hospital the next day for further examination.

In the early morning hours, her heart stopped beating and an ambulance was summoned to her home. Medics resuscitated the girl, who was taken to the hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit in critical condition. Doctors pronounced the girl dead late Wednesday night.

The Health Ministry said that despite the uncertainty over whether the girl died from swine flu, it decided to include her on the list of Israelis who succumbed to the virus.

PA confirms first Palestinian swine flu death

On Friday, a senior Palestinian Authority official confirmed the first Palestinian death from swine flu.

PA Health Minister Dr. Fathi Abu Mghalli said in a statement sent to reporters that the victim was a resident of the Ramallah area.

Abu Mghali said the patient had recently returned from Saudi Arabia through Jordan with a severe lung infection and had been admitted in critical condition to Ramallah hospital.

He had received treatment in Jordan, which was resumed in Ramallah on his return.

All symptoms indicated infection with the A/H1N1 virus, he said, which was later confirmed.

He called on Palestinians in the West Bank who plan to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Omra, or religious prayers in Mecca during the holy month of Ramadan, to postpone their journey.

More than 80 Palestinians have contracted the A/H1N1 virus, Abu Mghalli said, adding that most were treated and released from hospital.

Ministry: More than 20,000 Israelis have been hit by swine flu

More than 20,000 Israelis have been infected with swine flu, the vast majority of whom had mild cases, the Health Ministry estimates. Two Israelis died of the disease.

The ministry has stopped systematically testing patients with suspected swine flu, or H1N1, as the virus is known. Laboratory tests are now being limited to hospital patients and geographic areas of more widespread outbreaks. The ministry's Center for Disease Control has reported that about 920 Israelis a week are coming down with the disease. Swine flu vaccines are still being developed; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided last week that vaccines will be made available to all Israeli citizens when they come to market.

The most widespread cases of swine flu have been reported in Nahariya, Netanya, Modi'in, Beit Shemesh and in Jewish settlements in the southern West Bank. Smaller outbreaks have been reported in Haifa and its suburbs, as well as in Hadera, Rishon Letzion, Rehovot, Be'er Sheva and Jerusalem. Numbers on Tel Aviv have not yet been submitted.

Amnon Kiro, who has been tracking flu cases for the Israeli Pediatric Association, notes that "at the moment, swine flu is more widespread among children, but the cases are also milder. In general with the flu, infection among children usually portends the spread of the disease in the [wider] community."

At Moshav Nehora in the south, four children attending kindergartens have been infected with swine flu. The regional council has decided to close the preschools to reduce the risk of further spread. An assessment will be made on Sunday on reopening the kindergartens.

Although public concerns have risen regarding the spread of swine flu, Dan Engelhard, head of the Ministry's epidemic response team, says "the situation with the disease has not changed." He noted that young adults are at greater risk than children and that there was no need for widespread action in kindergartens or limitations on opening schools next month.