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Review of the evidence base underpinning clinical countermeasures and risk from H5N1

Under the auspices of the Scientific Advisory Group on Pandemic Influenza, five scientific papers were developed in 2006, dealing with the clinical countermeasures and the risk of a pandemic originating from an H5N1 virus.

The antivirals and vaccine papers were produced with help from the MHRA.

The antibiotics paper consists of a cover note setting the scene and published clinical guidelines from a working group with input from the Department of Health, British Thoracic Society, British Infection Society and the Health Protection Agency.

The masks paper has been prepared by the Health Protection Agency.

The risk paper builds on the workshop organised by DEFRA and DH last summer where approximately 50 delegates discussed this subject.

These were sent to additional national and international scientific reviewers in early 2007. Revised papers were then reviewed at a colloquium, convened by the Secretary of State for Health, of national and international scientific experts in April 2007. Comments from the colloquium were incorporated into a further revision of the papers. These were again submitted to the Scientific Advisory Group and received final endorsement as reflecting a comprehensive and state of the art summary as of June 2007.

The implications of these papers for UK policy are under consideration.

• Download paper: Use of antiviral drugs in an influenza pandemic (PDF, 395K)
• Download paper: Pre-pandemic and pandemic influenza vaccines (PDF, 210K)
• Download paper: The use of antibiotics for pandemic influenza (PDF, 406K)
• Download tables 14.1 and 14.2 from the antibiotics paper (PDF, 108K)
• Download paper: The use of face masks during an influenza pandemic (PDF, 206K)
• Download paper: Risk of a human influenza pandemic emerging from avian H5N1 viruses (PDF, 233K)