Doctors Warn Over Swine Flu Vaccine for Vulnerable Patients

Doctors have warned that the forthcoming vaccines for swine flu may not work as well in patients who have cancer or HIV/Aids, are on kidney dialysis, or have received a new organ, as they will for everyone else.

The fact such people's immune systems are impaired may mean giving them Tamiflu is a better option than the H1N1 vaccines being developed, according to American researchers in a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

"Although influenza vaccination is widely recommended for people that are immunosuppressed, the same immune dysfunction that can increase the risk and consequences of influenza infection might also compromise vaccine responses and effectiveness," Ken Kunisaki of the University of Minnesota and Edward Janoff of Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, write.

The authors recommend more research into how susceptible such patient groups are to H1N1 and to how effective future vaccines may be. The health secretary Andy Burnham insisted again that the first supplies of a vaccine would be received next month and would be safe.

Around 2 million people in the UK have, or have had, cancer; 77,400 have HIV/Aids, while 19,000 are receiving dialysis treatment. A further 21,478 people have received a transplanted organ in the last decade.

Macmillan Cancer Support said it has seen an increase in calls and emails to its support services about the effects of swine flu on people with reduced immunity.

But Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: "People with these conditions should not be unduly concerned by this research paper, which is theoretical, because the evidence isn't clear."

Patients who are immuno-compromised should, however, avoid contact with people who may have swine flu and may even want to avoid crowds, he added.