Flu shot better than nasal spray?

Many people hate the thought of having to get a shot, so when it comes to the flu shot, where there is the option to use a nasal spray, many will take it. Yet it appears that this may not be the better option for you. A new comparison of flu vaccines gives adults a good reason to roll up their sleeves and get a jab in their arm instead of a squirt in the nose.

During the recent flu season, a study of nearly 2000 healthy adults found that standard shots were twice as effective against regular winter flu compares with the newer nasal spray. Yet despite this being the case for shots for regular flu, it may not be the case for swine flu vaccines. These vaccines, which may first be available in spray form, might be equally effective against swine flu in children and adults according to experts.

Flu shots are made of killed flu viruses that are usually injected into the arm. FluMist, meanwhile, which is the only government-approved flu nasal spray delivers a live but weakened strain to the nostrils.

While FluMist - mainly targeted for use in children - has seen evidence supporting that the treatment works better than a jab in children, has recently seen an increasing number of adults opting to use the spray version as well.

However, this latest study, led by Dr Arnold Monto, an epidemiologist from the University of Michigan, supports previous research that had come to the same conclusion: that the shot is better for adults than the spray.

"It's not clear why the spray is less effective against seasonal flu in adults, but the same may not hold true for swine flu vaccines," said Dr. Jay Butler, swine flu vaccine chief with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "The swine flu virus is so novel that the immune system should still mount a strong response."

Federal health officials have said they expected the first shipments of swine flu vaccines next month to be the nasal spray version. The spray is approved only for healthy people aged between two and 49.

So the question being asked now, is should adults wait until the shot is available instead of using the spray? "I wouldn't recommend that," warns Butler. "Even if it's impact is less, it's not zero."

Monto says, "If there was a difference in effectiveness between the swine flu shot and spray, it probably would not be as dramatic since the pandemic strain - 2009 H1N1 - is so new."

The study, which compared regular flu vaccines during the 2007-2008 flu season, gave healthy volunteers (aged between 18 and 49) either a flu shot made by Sanofi Pasteur, a dummy injection, FluMist, or a fake nasal spray. Since the 1952 participants were randomly divided into four groups, exposure to the flu in each group was similar, according toMonto.

The findings showed that the flu shot was 68 percent successful at preventing the flu compared with the nasal spray, which was 36 percent effective The study was funded by Sanofi, and published in New England's Journal of Medicine.

24/09/2009

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