The Other Flu
Swine flu is grabbing the headlines, but experts warn other strands should be taken just as seriously
With the H1N1 virus complicating predictions for the arrival of the seasonal flu, health experts are urging Americans to get their seasonal flu shots to guard against the possibility of a winter arrival.
Health experts say 5 to 20 percent of the population is struck down annually with the seasonal flu. Yet so far this fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports very few cases of seasonal flu.
“We haven’t seen much seasonal flu, if any,” says Tom Skinner, spokesperson for the CDC in Atlanta, Ga. “We would have been seeing seasonal flu by now and it may be that the H1N1 is so predominate now that it may be squeezing out the seasonal flu. That’s sort of a hypothesis of some. Whether or not the seasonal flu will pick up after the first of the year we do not know.”
So far this year, close to 90 million Americans have been immunized against the seasonal flu. “We have probably vaccinated more people at this time of the year than we ever have,” Skinner says.
But the flu season is far from over. For many, it may not have even begun.
“Since we can’t be sure when H1N1 will become inactive or a lot less active, and we don’t know for sure when the seasonal flu will begin to become active, we can’t make clear cut predictions for the upcoming seasonal flu season,” says Dr. Kate Cronan, medical editor at KidsHealth.org in Wilmington, Del. “But, if H1N1 is still active when the seasonal flu begins, we will have two flu illnesses simultaneously, affecting many more people than the seasonal flu does each year. Together, these flu illnesses, even for a short time will be different than any in recent memory It’s a watch and wait scenario and a message to immunize as much as possible.”
Dr. Lori Heim, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians in Leawood, Kan., says too many people make the mistake of thinking that they are safe from the seasonal flu after the holidays.
“Once December is over, people think, ‘winter is over so I’m good,’“ Heim says. “The flu season oftentimes does not peak until February. People need to get the seasonal flu shot as late as March.”
Vaccination, which can come in the form of a shot or nasal spray, is especially important for the elderly and children. The seasonal flu vaccine is not intended to provide protection against the 2009 H1N1 A novel virus, experts note.
“All children between the ages of six months and 18 years should receive the seasonal flu vaccine,” Cronan says. “A child who has not been vaccinated should get the vaccine up to or even later than May 1, 2010. Children under age 9 require two doses, with 28 days between each dose.”
“School age children are more at risk of getting the seasonal flu than healthy adults,” Cronan says. “They are also at higher risk of needing medical care during the flu illness than healthy adults. Therefore it is prudent to get vaccinated as soon as possible for the seasonal flu.”
An estimated 200,000 flu-related hospitalizations occur in the United States each year, with about 60 percent of these hospitalizations occurring in people 65 years and older, the CDC reports. In the United States, the CDC estimates that about 36,000 people died of flu-related causes each year during the 1990s, with 90 percent of these deaths occurring in people 65 years and older.
So while you are out doing your holiday shopping, consider buying a little insurance against an unwelcome seasonal visitor by getting the influenza vaccine.
“It’s certainly not too late,” Skinner says.
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