Fall is here and that means back to school, and back to flu season. This year, in addition to the regular "seasonal flu," there is the widely feared strain known as H1N1, formerly known as "swine flu." The pandemic began to circulate in California over the summer, and has increased recently in the Southeastern US and in Alaska. Most of the flu that we're seeing now is actually H1N1.
How scared should we be? The situation is ever changing, and so it is hard to say. What we do know is that H1N1 affects mostly the young (unlike the usual seasonal flu, which affects the very young and the elderly). Only 5% of cases have occurred in people over the age of 50. In terms of numbers infected, we should be most concerned about school age children: most cases have been in children aged 5-14. In terms of severity and need for hospitalization, at risk groups include: the very young (kids 4 and under), especially those with developmental disorders; pregnant women; and people with chronic conditions including asthma/COPD, diabetes, suppressed immune systems, heart, lung, or chronic liver and kidney disease.
How can you avoid getting H1N1?
The first answer is always hygiene. This is what you can control as an individual, and just as important as getting vaccinated (more on vaccination below). Hygiene includes all the basics:
-cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, and then dispose of the used tissue
-wash your hands frequently, or use hand sanitizer
-don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth- these are all entry points for viruses into your body
-if you're sick, stay home! You are considered non-contagious when you have not had a fever for at least 24 hours without taking fever reducing medicine.
-avoid crowds when possible
What about the vaccine?
This year, we will have two vaccines: the seasonal flu vaccine, and a new vaccine against H1N1.
The seasonal flu vaccine is available now in many doctors' offices as well as pharmacies. This will not prevent H1N1 but is recommended as other strains are still circulating.
H1N1 is not yet available and is expected later this fall. It is not clear what the availability will be, but we do know priority will be given to those at highest risk. To recap, these groups include
-young people aged 6 mos to 24 years
-household contacts of infants <6 months
-pregnant women
-people aged 25-64 with the chronic medical conditions listed above
-health care workers and first responders
Distribution of the H1N1 vaccine will be determined by your local health departments.
What to do if you get the flu?
If you don't fall into any of the high risk groups above, you'll likely recovery fully on your own and probably won't require any specific treatment. If you have a fever and flu symptoms and fall into any of the above high risk categories, you should see your doctor- antiviral medications can be helpful if given within 48-72 hours of symptom onset.
For more information and frequent updates, please look at the CDC's website:
http://cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/public/vaccination_qa_pub.htm
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Kim Gamble
kmbearden
Spectrum Voice
Susie Lindau
Lauren B. Davis
racheld
Salon.com
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