News in brief - Aug. 7, 2006

Flu vaccine manufacturer to construct new plant - Diabetes risks for Southeast Asians - Bariatric surgery's postsurgical complications studied

Flu vaccine manufacturer to construct new plant

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis announced July 18 its intention to build the nation's first cell culture-derived influenza vaccine manufacturing plant in Holly Springs, N.C. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2007.

Once completed and approved for commercial production, the site is expected to yield up to 50 million doses of annual trivalent flu vaccine each season. In the event of a pandemic, the site should have a capacity of up to 150 million doses of monovalent vaccine within six months of an outbreak, according to the company.

The plant is expected to cost $600 million, which includes a $220 million grant from the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Novartis also announced its submission of a cell-culture-derived flu vaccine for approval in Europe. By avoiding reliance on eggs, cell-culture vaccines are expected to be more reliable and require less lead time than the decades-old process that produces the bulk of the nation's annual flu vaccine supply.

Diabetes risks for Southeast Asians

Cambodians, Hmongs, Laotians and Vietnamese who often arrive in the United States as refugees face a frequently unrecognized risk for uncontrolled diabetes, said Jane Kelly, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Diabetes Education Program.

She released a new CDC publication at the American Diabetes Assn. meeting, "Silent Trauma: Diabetes, Health Status and the Refugee Experience Among Southeast Asians in the United States."

Although there is limited information on the prevalence and rates of complications among U.S. Southeast Asian populations, type 2 diabetes risk increases at a lower body mass index for Asians than for other ethnic groups.

Thus their risk is often underestimated because of a characteristic smaller body build.

Bariatric surgery's postsurgical complications studied

Four out of every 10 obesity surgery patients develop a complication within six months of leaving the hospital, according to a new study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The study is based on insurance claims data.

The five most common complications following obesity surgery were dumping syndrome, which includes vomiting, reflux and diarrhea; anastomosis complications such as leaks or stricture that result from the surgical joining of the intestine and stomach; abdominal hernias; infections; and pneumonia.

The overall death rate for the 180-day postoperative period studied was low -- 0.2%.

Most studies of complications from obesity surgery, which is also known as bariatric or weight-loss surgery, had been limited to those that occur before hospital discharge or, at the most, 30 days postdischarge.

"Obesity surgery is helping thousands of Americans who have not succeeded at losing weight reduce their risk of diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, but this study shows how important it is for patients to consider the potential complications when they make the decision to undergo the procedure," said AHRQ's Director Carolyn M. Clancy, MD.

"The study also should give clinicians information that will help them make improvements in the procedure and postsurgical care," Dr. Clancy said.