Tips to prevent the transmission of influenza
- Cover your mouth when you cough
- Cough into your elbow
- Use tissues if you sneeze and dispose of them appropriately after use.
- Try to avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes.
- Wash your hands frequently.
- Clean things that are touched often using a Clorox wipe.
- Avoid close contact with others when you are sick .
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Use an alcohol based instant hand sanitizer.
- Kissing and shaking hands can spread the flu.
- Gets an annual flu shot in the fall.
Key facts about the flu
Overview:
Seasonal influenza is an acute viral infection caused by an influenza virus.
There are three types of seasonal influenza – A, B and C. Type A influenza viruses are further typed into subtypes according to different kinds and combinations of virus surface proteins. Among many subtypes of influenza A viruses, currently influenza A(H1N1) and A(H3N2) subtypes are circulating among humans. Influenza viruses circulate in every part of the world. Type C influenza cases occur much less frequently than A and B. That is why only influenza A and B viruses are included in seasonal influenza vaccines.
Signs and symptoms:
Seasonal influenza is characterized by a sudden onset of high fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise (feeling unwell), sore throat and runny nose. Most people recover from fever and other symptoms within a week without requiring medical attention. But influenza can cause severe illness or death in people at high risk (see below). The time from infection to illness, known as the incubation period, is about two days.
Who is at risk?:
Yearly influenza epidemics can seriously affect all age groups, but the highest risk of complications occur among children younger than age two, adults age 65 or older, and people of any age with certain medical conditions, such as chronic heart, lung, kidney, liver, blood or metabolic diseases (such as diabetes), or weakened immune systems.
Transmission:
Seasonal influenza spreads easily and can sweep through schools, nursing homes or businesses and towns. When an infected person coughs, infected droplets get into the air and another person can breath them in and be exposed. The virus can also be spread by hands infected with the virus. To prevent transmission, people should cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing, and wash their hands regularly.
Treatment:
Antiviral drugs for influenza are available in some countries and effectively prevent and treat the illness. There are two classes of such medicines, 1) adamantanes (amantadine and remantadine), and 2) inhibitors of influenza neuraminidase (oseltamivir and zanamivir). Some influenza viruses develop resistance to the antiviral medicines, limiting the effectiveness of treatment. WHO monitors antiviral susceptibility in the circulating influenza viruses.
Seasonal epidemics:
Influenza epidemics occur yearly during autumn and winter in temperate regions. Illnesses result in hospitalizations and deaths mainly among high-risk groups (the very young, elderly or chronically ill). Worldwide, these annual epidemics result in about three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250 000 to 500 000 deaths. Most deaths associated with influenza in industrialized countries occur among people age 65 or older. In some tropical countries, influenza viruses circulate throughout the year with one or two peaks during rainy seasons.
Disease effects:
Influenza can cause serious public health and economic problems. In developed countries, epidemics can result in high levels of worker absenteeism and productivity losses. In communities, clinics and hospitals can be overwhelmed when large numbers of sick people appear for treatment during peak illness periods. While most people recover from a bout of influenza, there are large numbers of people who need hospital treatment and many who die from the disease every year. Little is known about the effects of influenza epidemics in developing countries.
Prevention:
The most effective way to prevent the disease or severe outcomes from the illness is vaccination. Safe and effective vaccines have been available and used for more than 60 years. Among healthy adults, influenza vaccine can prevent 70% to 90% of influenza-specific illness. Among the elderly, the vaccine reduces severe illnesses and complications by up to 60%, and deaths by 80%.
Vaccination is especially important for people at higher risk of serious influenza complications, and for people who live with or care for high risk individuals.
WHO recommends annual vaccination for (in order of priority):
- Influenza is an acute viral infection that spreads easily from person to person.
- Influenza circulates worldwide and can affect anybody in any age group.
- Influenza causes annual epidemics that peak during winter in temperate regions.
- Influenza is a serious public health problem that causes severe illnesses and deaths for higher risk populations.
- An epidemic can take an economic toll through lost workforce productivity, and strain health services.
- Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infection.
Overview:
Seasonal influenza is an acute viral infection caused by an influenza virus.
There are three types of seasonal influenza – A, B and C. Type A influenza viruses are further typed into subtypes according to different kinds and combinations of virus surface proteins. Among many subtypes of influenza A viruses, currently influenza A(H1N1) and A(H3N2) subtypes are circulating among humans. Influenza viruses circulate in every part of the world. Type C influenza cases occur much less frequently than A and B. That is why only influenza A and B viruses are included in seasonal influenza vaccines.
Signs and symptoms:
Seasonal influenza is characterized by a sudden onset of high fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise (feeling unwell), sore throat and runny nose. Most people recover from fever and other symptoms within a week without requiring medical attention. But influenza can cause severe illness or death in people at high risk (see below). The time from infection to illness, known as the incubation period, is about two days.
Who is at risk?:
Yearly influenza epidemics can seriously affect all age groups, but the highest risk of complications occur among children younger than age two, adults age 65 or older, and people of any age with certain medical conditions, such as chronic heart, lung, kidney, liver, blood or metabolic diseases (such as diabetes), or weakened immune systems.
Transmission:
Seasonal influenza spreads easily and can sweep through schools, nursing homes or businesses and towns. When an infected person coughs, infected droplets get into the air and another person can breath them in and be exposed. The virus can also be spread by hands infected with the virus. To prevent transmission, people should cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing, and wash their hands regularly.
Treatment:
Antiviral drugs for influenza are available in some countries and effectively prevent and treat the illness. There are two classes of such medicines, 1) adamantanes (amantadine and remantadine), and 2) inhibitors of influenza neuraminidase (oseltamivir and zanamivir). Some influenza viruses develop resistance to the antiviral medicines, limiting the effectiveness of treatment. WHO monitors antiviral susceptibility in the circulating influenza viruses.
Seasonal epidemics:
Influenza epidemics occur yearly during autumn and winter in temperate regions. Illnesses result in hospitalizations and deaths mainly among high-risk groups (the very young, elderly or chronically ill). Worldwide, these annual epidemics result in about three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250 000 to 500 000 deaths. Most deaths associated with influenza in industrialized countries occur among people age 65 or older. In some tropical countries, influenza viruses circulate throughout the year with one or two peaks during rainy seasons.
Disease effects:
Influenza can cause serious public health and economic problems. In developed countries, epidemics can result in high levels of worker absenteeism and productivity losses. In communities, clinics and hospitals can be overwhelmed when large numbers of sick people appear for treatment during peak illness periods. While most people recover from a bout of influenza, there are large numbers of people who need hospital treatment and many who die from the disease every year. Little is known about the effects of influenza epidemics in developing countries.
Prevention:
The most effective way to prevent the disease or severe outcomes from the illness is vaccination. Safe and effective vaccines have been available and used for more than 60 years. Among healthy adults, influenza vaccine can prevent 70% to 90% of influenza-specific illness. Among the elderly, the vaccine reduces severe illnesses and complications by up to 60%, and deaths by 80%.
Vaccination is especially important for people at higher risk of serious influenza complications, and for people who live with or care for high risk individuals.
WHO recommends annual vaccination for (in order of priority):
- nursing-home residents (the elderly or disabled)
- elderly individuals
- people with chronic medical conditions
- other groups such as pregnant women, health care workers, those with essential functions in society, as well as children from ages six months to two years.
Causes:
In temperate climates, influenza A usually arrives between early winter and early spring. Influenza B can appear at any time of the year.
The most common way to catch the flu is by breathing in droplets from coughs or sneezes. Less often, it is spread when you touch a surface such as a faucet handle or phone that has the virus on it, and then touch your own mouth, nose, or eyes.
Symptoms appear 1 - 7 days later (usually within 2 - 3 days). Because the flu spreads through the air and is very contagious, it often strikes a community all at once, causing an epidemic illness. This creates a cluster of school and work absences. Many students become sick within 2 or 3 weeks of the flu's arrival in a school.
Tens of millions of people in the United States get the flu each year. Most get better within a week or two, but thousands become sick enough to be hospitalized. About 36,000 people die each year from complications of the flu.
Sometimes people confuse colds and flu, which share some of the same symptoms and typically occur at the same time of the year. However, the two diseases are very different. Most people get a cold several times each year, and the flu only once every few years.
People often use the term "stomach flu" to describe a viral illness where vomiting or diarrhea is the main symptom. This is incorrect, as the stomach symptoms are not caused by the flu virus. Flu infections are primarily respiratory infections.
Symptoms:
The flu usually begins abruptly, with a fever between 102 and 106 °F. (An adult typically has a lower fever than a child.) The fever usually lasts for a day or two, but can last 5 days.
Other common symptoms include:
The most prominent of the respiratory symptoms is usually a dry, hacking cough. Most people also develop a sore throat and headache. Runny nose (nasal discharge) and sneezing are common.
These symptoms (except the cough) usually disappear within 4 - 7 days. Sometimes, the fever returns. The cough and tiredness usually last for weeks after the rest of the illness is over.
Other symptoms may include:
The evaluation of an individual with flu symptoms should include a thorough physical exam and, in cases where pneumonia is suspected, a chest x-ray.
Additional blood work may be needed. They may include a complete blood count, blood cultures, and sputum cultures.
The most common method for diagnosing the flu is an antigen detection test, which is done by swabbing the nose and throat, then sending a sample to the laboratory for testing.
The results of these tests can be available rapidly, and can help decide if specific treatment is appropriate. However, when flu is widespread in the community the diagnosis can often be made by simply identifying symptoms without further testing.
Treatment »
If you have mild illness and are not at high risk, take these steps:
The main benefit of antiviral drugs is that they can shorten the time you have symptoms by about one day, but only if you start taking the medicine within 48 hours of when your symptoms began.
If you need treatment, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that your doctor give you zanamivir (Relenza) or osteltamivir (Tamiflu).
Children who are at risk of developing a severe case of the flu should also contact their provider for antiviral medication.
Outlook (Prognosis):
Anyone at any age can have serious complications from the flu, but those at highest risk include:
Possible Complications:
Possible complications, especially for those at high risk, include:
Prevention »
A yearly vaccine is recommended for children older than 6 months, adolescents, and adults.
The vaccine is available as a flu shot or a nasal spray-type flu vaccine.
In temperate climates, influenza A usually arrives between early winter and early spring. Influenza B can appear at any time of the year.
The most common way to catch the flu is by breathing in droplets from coughs or sneezes. Less often, it is spread when you touch a surface such as a faucet handle or phone that has the virus on it, and then touch your own mouth, nose, or eyes.
Symptoms appear 1 - 7 days later (usually within 2 - 3 days). Because the flu spreads through the air and is very contagious, it often strikes a community all at once, causing an epidemic illness. This creates a cluster of school and work absences. Many students become sick within 2 or 3 weeks of the flu's arrival in a school.
Tens of millions of people in the United States get the flu each year. Most get better within a week or two, but thousands become sick enough to be hospitalized. About 36,000 people die each year from complications of the flu.
Sometimes people confuse colds and flu, which share some of the same symptoms and typically occur at the same time of the year. However, the two diseases are very different. Most people get a cold several times each year, and the flu only once every few years.
People often use the term "stomach flu" to describe a viral illness where vomiting or diarrhea is the main symptom. This is incorrect, as the stomach symptoms are not caused by the flu virus. Flu infections are primarily respiratory infections.
Symptoms:
The flu usually begins abruptly, with a fever between 102 and 106 °F. (An adult typically has a lower fever than a child.) The fever usually lasts for a day or two, but can last 5 days.
Other common symptoms include:
- Body aches
- Chills
- Dizziness
- Flushed face
- Headache
- Lack of energy
- Nausea
- Vomiting
The most prominent of the respiratory symptoms is usually a dry, hacking cough. Most people also develop a sore throat and headache. Runny nose (nasal discharge) and sneezing are common.
These symptoms (except the cough) usually disappear within 4 - 7 days. Sometimes, the fever returns. The cough and tiredness usually last for weeks after the rest of the illness is over.
Other symptoms may include:
- Loss of appetite
- Muscle aches and stiffness
- Stuffy, congested nose
- Sweating
- Worsening of underlying illness, such as asthma or heart failure
The evaluation of an individual with flu symptoms should include a thorough physical exam and, in cases where pneumonia is suspected, a chest x-ray.
Additional blood work may be needed. They may include a complete blood count, blood cultures, and sputum cultures.
The most common method for diagnosing the flu is an antigen detection test, which is done by swabbing the nose and throat, then sending a sample to the laboratory for testing.
The results of these tests can be available rapidly, and can help decide if specific treatment is appropriate. However, when flu is widespread in the community the diagnosis can often be made by simply identifying symptoms without further testing.
Treatment »
If you have mild illness and are not at high risk, take these steps:
- Rest
- Take medicines that relieve symptoms and help you rest
- Drink plenty of liquids
- Avoid aspirin (especially teens and children)
- Alternate two Tylenol (acetaminophen) with two Advil/Motrin (ibuprofen) every 4 hours to bring down a high temperature
- Avoid alcohol and tobacco
- Avoid antibiotics (unless necessary for another illness)
The main benefit of antiviral drugs is that they can shorten the time you have symptoms by about one day, but only if you start taking the medicine within 48 hours of when your symptoms began.
If you need treatment, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that your doctor give you zanamivir (Relenza) or osteltamivir (Tamiflu).
Children who are at risk of developing a severe case of the flu should also contact their provider for antiviral medication.
Outlook (Prognosis):
Anyone at any age can have serious complications from the flu, but those at highest risk include:
- People over age 50
- Children between 6 months and 2 years
- Women more than 3 months pregnant during the flu season
- Anyone living in a long-term care facility
- Anyone with chronic heart, lung, or kidney conditions, diabetes, or a weakened immune system
Possible Complications:
Possible complications, especially for those at high risk, include:
- Pneumonia
- Encephalitis (infection of the brain)
- Bronchitis
- Sinus infections
- Ear infections
Prevention »
A yearly vaccine is recommended for children older than 6 months, adolescents, and adults.
The vaccine is available as a flu shot or a nasal spray-type flu vaccine.
Myths About the Flu Vaccine
By Jane E. Brody : NY Times : March 11, 2013
On Dec. 20, 1968, I got the flu. I remember it still: Christmas was a washout — I couldn’t leave the bed unassisted or keep anything down, not even a taste of the goose that someone else had to cook.
On New Year’s Day I could hardly breathe, and my husband carried me to a doctor, who diagnosed double pneumonia. I didn’t recover fully for three months. And I was pregnant — with twins, no less.
The flu is no joke, especially not for pregnant women, the very young and the elderly, people who are chronically ill and those whose immune systems are suppressed. I managed to contract the flu during each of the three major outbreaks of Type A virus between 1957 and 1977. I never again want to be that sick — and I haven’t been. I get a flu shot every fall before the season begins.
But as this year’s severe epidemic demonstrated, too many people are neglecting this most basic precaution.
Although annual flu vaccination is now recommended for nearly everyone over the age of 6 months, for one reason or another only a minority of Americans — and fewer than half of those most at risk of serious complications and death from the flu — take this advice. Only two-thirds of health care workers, in fact, got the flu vaccine last year.
Recently I overheard a father say: “I’m not getting my kids vaccinated. I found out it’s mainly to protect the elderly, and there are no old people in my house.”
I thought: Maybe not, sir, but do your children never go out? What about the people they may infect in school, in other people’s houses, or in a movie theater, store, public restroom, train, plane or bus?
Almost anywhere they go, these children could come in contact with a cancer patient on chemotherapy, a pregnant woman, or someone with asthma, diabetes, heart disease or a kidney or liver disorder. All are especially at risk of serious complications or death from the flu.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu virus can travel six feet on droplets from coughs, sneezes or talk. Those infected can spread the virus before symptoms develop and for a week or more after getting sick. Less often, flu is spread by touching a contaminated surface, then touching one’s eyes, nose or mouth.
Even if all those at high risk got their shots, the vaccine does not work for everyone; many can still get the flu, develop pneumonia or a worsening of a chronic condition, and die. But when more people are immunized, fewer get sick and the chances of keeping everyone else healthy improve, a phenomenon called “herd immunity.”
Dr. Thomas R. Talbot and his wife, Dr. H. Keipp Talbot, infectious disease specialists at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, recently examined — and refuted — many of the common arguments against influenza vaccination.
“The vaccine doesn’t work.”
While it is not as effective as many other popular vaccines (on average, the flu vaccine is 56 percent effective in preventing flu), it is not ineffective.
The flu viruses in circulation change from year to year. The decision as to which variants to include in the vaccine each year must be made well in advance of the flu season. At any point thereafter, a new variant may emerge or an old one re-emerge, as happened this year with the Type B flu virus.
The vaccine’s effectiveness varies by population, too. This year’s vaccine has been only 9 percent effective in protecting the elderly, for instance. Still, Dr. Thomas Talbot said, “even though elderly people who are immunized may get sick, they may not get as sick. They may still go to the doctor, but not to the hospital.”
“Certain populations don’t respond as well to the vaccine — the very young and very old, people who are immunosuppressed and women who are pregnant,” he added. “People who respond best to the vaccine should be immunized so they don’t spread it to others.”
Over all, this year’s vaccine proved 62 percent effective in preventing illness that warranted a doctor’s attention. Immunization is one good way to reduce the nation’s skyrocketing health care costs.
“The vaccine causes the flu.”
No way! There are two kinds of licensed flu vaccines: an inactivated kind made with dead virus and one prepared with live “attenuated” virus. Neither is capable of reproducing in the human body. Those who say they got sick right after getting the shot most likely were already infected. Or they developed another viral infection unrelated to flu.
“I’m allergic to eggs.”
The vaccine is prepared in eggs, but only those with a severe anaphylactic reaction to eggs must avoid it. Based on recent evidence, the vaccine is safe for those with lesser reactions (for example, only hives) as long as they are observed for half an hour after receiving it.
“I am pregnant or chronically ill, or live with someone whose immune system is compromised.”
These are the very people for whom the flu vaccine is most important, because they face the greatest risk of complications. “The vaccine is safe in these persons and can prevent serious morbidity and mortality,” the Talbots wrote.
“I never get the flu.”
Although some who are infected may not develop classic flu symptoms (fever, cough, muscle or body aches, sore throat, headache, fatigue, runny or stuffy nose), they can still transmit the virus to others at home, school or work.
Even if you were not immunized and already had the flu this season, you’d be wise to get the vaccine; you can still be sickened by another of the viral variants circulating. Flu season, which peaks in February, can last until May. And because immunity to flu viruses tends to be short-lived, having had the flu or the vaccine in past years is not sufficiently protective.
Inconvenience — getting a doctor’s appointment and waiting in the office — might have once been a reasonable excuse to skip a flu shot. Nowadays, access to the vaccine is widespread: in pharmacies, stores, clinics, health departments and schools and at work, as well as at doctors’ offices. Often, as for people on Medicare, there is no charge for the vaccine.
By Jane E. Brody : NY Times : March 11, 2013
On Dec. 20, 1968, I got the flu. I remember it still: Christmas was a washout — I couldn’t leave the bed unassisted or keep anything down, not even a taste of the goose that someone else had to cook.
On New Year’s Day I could hardly breathe, and my husband carried me to a doctor, who diagnosed double pneumonia. I didn’t recover fully for three months. And I was pregnant — with twins, no less.
The flu is no joke, especially not for pregnant women, the very young and the elderly, people who are chronically ill and those whose immune systems are suppressed. I managed to contract the flu during each of the three major outbreaks of Type A virus between 1957 and 1977. I never again want to be that sick — and I haven’t been. I get a flu shot every fall before the season begins.
But as this year’s severe epidemic demonstrated, too many people are neglecting this most basic precaution.
Although annual flu vaccination is now recommended for nearly everyone over the age of 6 months, for one reason or another only a minority of Americans — and fewer than half of those most at risk of serious complications and death from the flu — take this advice. Only two-thirds of health care workers, in fact, got the flu vaccine last year.
Recently I overheard a father say: “I’m not getting my kids vaccinated. I found out it’s mainly to protect the elderly, and there are no old people in my house.”
I thought: Maybe not, sir, but do your children never go out? What about the people they may infect in school, in other people’s houses, or in a movie theater, store, public restroom, train, plane or bus?
Almost anywhere they go, these children could come in contact with a cancer patient on chemotherapy, a pregnant woman, or someone with asthma, diabetes, heart disease or a kidney or liver disorder. All are especially at risk of serious complications or death from the flu.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu virus can travel six feet on droplets from coughs, sneezes or talk. Those infected can spread the virus before symptoms develop and for a week or more after getting sick. Less often, flu is spread by touching a contaminated surface, then touching one’s eyes, nose or mouth.
Even if all those at high risk got their shots, the vaccine does not work for everyone; many can still get the flu, develop pneumonia or a worsening of a chronic condition, and die. But when more people are immunized, fewer get sick and the chances of keeping everyone else healthy improve, a phenomenon called “herd immunity.”
Dr. Thomas R. Talbot and his wife, Dr. H. Keipp Talbot, infectious disease specialists at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, recently examined — and refuted — many of the common arguments against influenza vaccination.
“The vaccine doesn’t work.”
While it is not as effective as many other popular vaccines (on average, the flu vaccine is 56 percent effective in preventing flu), it is not ineffective.
The flu viruses in circulation change from year to year. The decision as to which variants to include in the vaccine each year must be made well in advance of the flu season. At any point thereafter, a new variant may emerge or an old one re-emerge, as happened this year with the Type B flu virus.
The vaccine’s effectiveness varies by population, too. This year’s vaccine has been only 9 percent effective in protecting the elderly, for instance. Still, Dr. Thomas Talbot said, “even though elderly people who are immunized may get sick, they may not get as sick. They may still go to the doctor, but not to the hospital.”
“Certain populations don’t respond as well to the vaccine — the very young and very old, people who are immunosuppressed and women who are pregnant,” he added. “People who respond best to the vaccine should be immunized so they don’t spread it to others.”
Over all, this year’s vaccine proved 62 percent effective in preventing illness that warranted a doctor’s attention. Immunization is one good way to reduce the nation’s skyrocketing health care costs.
“The vaccine causes the flu.”
No way! There are two kinds of licensed flu vaccines: an inactivated kind made with dead virus and one prepared with live “attenuated” virus. Neither is capable of reproducing in the human body. Those who say they got sick right after getting the shot most likely were already infected. Or they developed another viral infection unrelated to flu.
“I’m allergic to eggs.”
The vaccine is prepared in eggs, but only those with a severe anaphylactic reaction to eggs must avoid it. Based on recent evidence, the vaccine is safe for those with lesser reactions (for example, only hives) as long as they are observed for half an hour after receiving it.
“I am pregnant or chronically ill, or live with someone whose immune system is compromised.”
These are the very people for whom the flu vaccine is most important, because they face the greatest risk of complications. “The vaccine is safe in these persons and can prevent serious morbidity and mortality,” the Talbots wrote.
“I never get the flu.”
Although some who are infected may not develop classic flu symptoms (fever, cough, muscle or body aches, sore throat, headache, fatigue, runny or stuffy nose), they can still transmit the virus to others at home, school or work.
Even if you were not immunized and already had the flu this season, you’d be wise to get the vaccine; you can still be sickened by another of the viral variants circulating. Flu season, which peaks in February, can last until May. And because immunity to flu viruses tends to be short-lived, having had the flu or the vaccine in past years is not sufficiently protective.
Inconvenience — getting a doctor’s appointment and waiting in the office — might have once been a reasonable excuse to skip a flu shot. Nowadays, access to the vaccine is widespread: in pharmacies, stores, clinics, health departments and schools and at work, as well as at doctors’ offices. Often, as for people on Medicare, there is no charge for the vaccine.
Planning for the Next Flu Season
By Jane E. Brody : NY Times : March 18, 2013
The flu season may be winding down, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about the next one — and what all of us must do differently if we are to avoid a repeat of the epidemic of the past few months.
Up to 20 percent of Americans get the flu each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 200,000 are hospitalized, and on average, 36,000 die as a result. These victims are not just the chronically ill or elderly: About 100 children die from the infection annually, and 20,000 are hospitalized. Most of these youngsters were perfectly healthy before this unpredictable virus struck.
Although most flu victims recover within a few days to two weeks, some develop debilitating, even life-threatening, complications: pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections or ear infections. Even after recovery, the flu can cause lingering postviral fatigue and weakness.
Despite all this, only a minority of American adults, and fewer than one child in five, receives an annual vaccination, the best protection against the flu. Perhaps more people would get immunized if they knew all their options, especially the various kinds of flu vaccines now available and how to find local, low-cost or free sources.
It takes about two weeks for the flu vaccine to be fully protective, and the best time to get it is in September or early October, before flu season begins in the United States. But even after the flu becomes widespread or is on the wane (it can continue to make people sick until sometime in May), the vaccine can be protective.
Four types of flu vaccine protect against the three variants of the flu virus — two versions of Type A and one of Type B — that experts expected to be the predominant culprits in the current flu season.
A fifth vaccine, which protects against four variants — two Type A’s and two Type B’s — has recently been approved and should be available later this year. An unexpected surge in a Type B variant that was not in this year’s vaccine caused many cases of flu this season and infected some people who had been immunized.
The traditional flu shot is an injection into the muscle, usually in the arm. It consists of killed viral particles that stimulate an antibody response in the body. Typical side effects are soreness or swelling in the injected arm and, in some people, symptoms that resemble the common cold: runny nose, headache, sore throat, cough or achiness.
A high-dose version of the traditional shot is available for people 65 and older, who typically have a less robust response to immunization than younger adults. The higher dose of antigens it contains can produce a more protective response from an aging immune system.
An intradermal vaccine given under the skin with a smaller needle is available for adults ages 18 to 64. It contains the same viral particles as the traditional shot, and is preferable for people who avoid immunization because they hate shots.
A nasal-spray vaccine, called FluMist, is licensed for people ages 2 to 49 who are healthy, not pregnant and not in close contact with people with compromised immunity. Unlike the shots, it contains live, weakened flu viruses that cannot cause the flu because they can’t reproduce in the human body. The nasal spray is ideal for children as well as young adults who are phobic about shots, although it may cause more flulike side effects, like runny nose, headache, fever, sore throat and muscle aches.
Children under 9 who are receiving flu vaccine for the first time should get two doses administered at least 28 days apart, preferably starting as soon as the vaccine becomes available in the fall. The first dose primes the immune system; the second stimulates an immune response. Either dose can be administered as a nasal spray or a shot.
Some young children who were immunized in previous years may also need two doses this year or next because a particularly virulent variant, the 2009 H1N1 virus, was not in vaccines produced before the 2010-11 flu season.
The potential value of flu vaccine for women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant was emphasized by a recent report from Norway, where researchers found a near doubling of the risk of fetal death among women who got the flu during pregnancy.
But some people should not be vaccinated: those with a severe allergy to eggs or who previously had a severe reaction to a flu shot; people with a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome that occurred after getting the flu vaccine (unless the flu itself poses a serious health risk to them); and babies younger than 6 months.
In addition, if you are moderately or seriously ill with a fever, you should wait until you recover before getting a flu shot.
For help in finding a vaccine provider, use the vaccine locator at flushot.healthmap.org and enter your ZIP code.
Experts agree that better flu vaccines are needed, and several possibilities are under development or awaiting government approval. But even with the less-than-perfect versions now available, the benefits of immunization clearly outweigh any risks, Dr. Thomas R. Talbot, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said in an interview.
Inevitably, some who are vaccinated will fall victim to the flu anyway. At the first hint of illness, go home and stay home. Avoid other people as much as possible, especially those who would be at high risk of serious illness if they were to catch the flu.
Consider asking your doctor to prescribe one of the two approved antiviral medications that can help reduce the flu’s severity and duration. One is Tamiflu (generically, oseltamivir), available as a pill or liquid, and the other is Relenza (zanamivir), sold as a powder that is inhaled (it is not appropriate for people with respiratory disease). Both are taken for five days, and both can safely be used by children and pregnant women.
The medications work best if started within two days of the onset of flu symptoms and should be given as early as possible to people who become very sick with the flu or face the possibility of serious complications from it.
By Jane E. Brody : NY Times : March 18, 2013
The flu season may be winding down, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about the next one — and what all of us must do differently if we are to avoid a repeat of the epidemic of the past few months.
Up to 20 percent of Americans get the flu each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 200,000 are hospitalized, and on average, 36,000 die as a result. These victims are not just the chronically ill or elderly: About 100 children die from the infection annually, and 20,000 are hospitalized. Most of these youngsters were perfectly healthy before this unpredictable virus struck.
Although most flu victims recover within a few days to two weeks, some develop debilitating, even life-threatening, complications: pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections or ear infections. Even after recovery, the flu can cause lingering postviral fatigue and weakness.
Despite all this, only a minority of American adults, and fewer than one child in five, receives an annual vaccination, the best protection against the flu. Perhaps more people would get immunized if they knew all their options, especially the various kinds of flu vaccines now available and how to find local, low-cost or free sources.
It takes about two weeks for the flu vaccine to be fully protective, and the best time to get it is in September or early October, before flu season begins in the United States. But even after the flu becomes widespread or is on the wane (it can continue to make people sick until sometime in May), the vaccine can be protective.
Four types of flu vaccine protect against the three variants of the flu virus — two versions of Type A and one of Type B — that experts expected to be the predominant culprits in the current flu season.
A fifth vaccine, which protects against four variants — two Type A’s and two Type B’s — has recently been approved and should be available later this year. An unexpected surge in a Type B variant that was not in this year’s vaccine caused many cases of flu this season and infected some people who had been immunized.
The traditional flu shot is an injection into the muscle, usually in the arm. It consists of killed viral particles that stimulate an antibody response in the body. Typical side effects are soreness or swelling in the injected arm and, in some people, symptoms that resemble the common cold: runny nose, headache, sore throat, cough or achiness.
A high-dose version of the traditional shot is available for people 65 and older, who typically have a less robust response to immunization than younger adults. The higher dose of antigens it contains can produce a more protective response from an aging immune system.
An intradermal vaccine given under the skin with a smaller needle is available for adults ages 18 to 64. It contains the same viral particles as the traditional shot, and is preferable for people who avoid immunization because they hate shots.
A nasal-spray vaccine, called FluMist, is licensed for people ages 2 to 49 who are healthy, not pregnant and not in close contact with people with compromised immunity. Unlike the shots, it contains live, weakened flu viruses that cannot cause the flu because they can’t reproduce in the human body. The nasal spray is ideal for children as well as young adults who are phobic about shots, although it may cause more flulike side effects, like runny nose, headache, fever, sore throat and muscle aches.
Children under 9 who are receiving flu vaccine for the first time should get two doses administered at least 28 days apart, preferably starting as soon as the vaccine becomes available in the fall. The first dose primes the immune system; the second stimulates an immune response. Either dose can be administered as a nasal spray or a shot.
Some young children who were immunized in previous years may also need two doses this year or next because a particularly virulent variant, the 2009 H1N1 virus, was not in vaccines produced before the 2010-11 flu season.
The potential value of flu vaccine for women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant was emphasized by a recent report from Norway, where researchers found a near doubling of the risk of fetal death among women who got the flu during pregnancy.
But some people should not be vaccinated: those with a severe allergy to eggs or who previously had a severe reaction to a flu shot; people with a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome that occurred after getting the flu vaccine (unless the flu itself poses a serious health risk to them); and babies younger than 6 months.
In addition, if you are moderately or seriously ill with a fever, you should wait until you recover before getting a flu shot.
For help in finding a vaccine provider, use the vaccine locator at flushot.healthmap.org and enter your ZIP code.
Experts agree that better flu vaccines are needed, and several possibilities are under development or awaiting government approval. But even with the less-than-perfect versions now available, the benefits of immunization clearly outweigh any risks, Dr. Thomas R. Talbot, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said in an interview.
Inevitably, some who are vaccinated will fall victim to the flu anyway. At the first hint of illness, go home and stay home. Avoid other people as much as possible, especially those who would be at high risk of serious illness if they were to catch the flu.
Consider asking your doctor to prescribe one of the two approved antiviral medications that can help reduce the flu’s severity and duration. One is Tamiflu (generically, oseltamivir), available as a pill or liquid, and the other is Relenza (zanamivir), sold as a powder that is inhaled (it is not appropriate for people with respiratory disease). Both are taken for five days, and both can safely be used by children and pregnant women.
The medications work best if started within two days of the onset of flu symptoms and should be given as early as possible to people who become very sick with the flu or face the possibility of serious complications from it.
