KANSAS
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT
BILL GRAVES, GOVERNOR
Gary R. Mitchell, Secretary

September 1, 1998

Contact: Don Brown, 785-296-1529

Flu Season is Coming - Is Your Family Prepared?

Very soon, like it or not, winter--and the flu season--will be upon us once again. Travel and visits with family and friends will go a long way in helping most of us make it through the cold winter months. Ironically, they also present more chances to become sick.

"Increased travel, social contact, time spent indoors, and other factors all contribute to spreading the flu and other respiratory diseases," says Assistant Epidemiologist Corinne Miller, Ph.D., of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). "It's no coincidence that these viruses become more prevalent each year around this time."

Fortunately, Miller says, you can greatly reduce your chances of catching the flu by receiving this year's vaccine from your family physician or local health department.

The flu vaccine isolates identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for this year are A/Sydney5/97-like, A/Beijing/262/95-like and B/Beijing/184/93-like. Vaccines will become available this month, and will provide protection for the current season only, Miller advises. "Be sure to make your family's vaccination appointments well in advance, to ensure that you receive the vaccine early in the season," she states.

Flu vaccinations can prevent up to 70-90 percent of healthy persons under age 65. In nursing home populations, flu vaccine has been demonstrated to be 80 percent effective in preventing deaths. These findings hold true when the vaccine strains match the circulating flu strains.

During flu epidemics, the estimated number of influenza-associated hospitalizations has averaged between 130,000 to 170,000 nationally per epidemic. The department recommends the flu vaccine for individuals six months and older who are at increased risk for influenza complications. High-risk groups include:

• persons age 65 and older;
• residents of nursing homes and other facilities housing persons of any age with chronic medical conditions;
• adults and children with chronic heart and lung disorders, including children with asthma;
• adults and children who required hospitalization or regular medical follow-up in the previous year because of chronic metabolic diseases like diabetes, kidney diseases, or who are immuno-suppressed;
• children and teenagers requiring long-term aspirin therapy;
• women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy during flu season.

The flu vaccine is also recommended for people such as doctors, nurses, hospital staff, nursing home employees, and visiting nurses-- all of whom may transmit influenza to people in high risk groups.

Miller says that when you get your flu shot, it's also a good idea to receive the pneumonia vaccine if you are at increased risk for pneumococcal disease. For most people, the pneumonia vaccine is effective for the rest of their lives. The department recommends this vaccine for persons two years and older in these high-risk groups:

• persons with chronic diseases or conditions (heart, lung, alcoholism, liver or diabetes);
• persons who are 65 or older;
• immuno-compromised adults (kidney diseases, certain cancers and related conditions, HIV infection, or organ transplant conditions);
• persons with no spleen or no functional spleen;
• persons living in special environments or settings with an identified increased risk of pneumonia (certain Native American populations).

Miller urges realism about the notion that vaccines themselves may make you sick. "While there is a very small chance of mild side effects from vaccines, the flu shot cannot cause the flu. You are far more likely to contract flu or pneumonia through normal means and become sick if you are not vaccinated," according to Miller.