The Salmonella outbreak possibly linked to a meat plant in Co Kildare has now spread to Sweden and France, bringing to five the number of European Union countries affected.
The latest figures for the outbreak of salmonella agona, released last night, show some 132 people have now been infected by the bug. Sweden has reported its first two cases, while France has confirmed one person has been infected by the relatively rare strain of the bacterium.
There has been one death linked to the salmonella outbreak. A 77-year-old British woman died from complications thought to be associated with the infection.
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Comment: Since Merck developed the cervical cancer vaccine, their first-quarter profits nearly doubled in April 2008.
The New England Journal of Medicine editorial can be read here. Researchers point out that:
[..]the real impact of HPV vaccination on cervical cancer will not be observable for decades. [..]
Although it was licensed for use in the United States in June 2006, the first phase 3 trials of the HPV vaccine with clinically relevant end points - cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 2 and 3 (CIN 2/3) - were not reported until May 2007, first in the Journal2 and 1 month later in the Lancet.3,4
[..] will the vaccine ultimately prevent not only cervical lesions, but also cervical cancer and death? How long will protection conferred by the vaccine last? Since most HPV infections are easily cleared by the immune system, how will vaccination affect natural immunity against HPV, and with what implications? How will the vaccine affect preadolescent girls, given that the only trials conducted in this cohort have been on the immune response? The studies with clinical end points (i.e., CIN 2/3) involved 16- to 24-year-old women. [..]
In other words, people who are getting the vaccine now are guinea pigs. This applies especially to younger girls.