H1N1 with travelers as they head home for the holidays
Four steps effective for prevention of influenza and its
complications.
The combination of an influenza pandemic and Thanksgiving has federal
public health officials concerned that the number of cases of 2009
A/H1N1 influenza will climb along with the number of holiday travelers.
In addition to target groups getting H1N1 vaccine, officials are
encouraging use of pneumococcal vaccine to reduce concomitant bacterial
infections and thereby cut deaths in the pediatric population.
According to Anne Schuchat, MD, Director of the National Center for
Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC, 21 pediatric deaths were
reported in the past week (15 confirmed as H1N1; 6 confirmed as type A
influenza and therefore most likely H1N1), bringing to 171 the number of
children and adolescents killed by the virus.
Schuchat advised that people on the road for Thanksgiving should use
four simple steps to prevent influenza transmission.
- Travel well—as in travel only when you are well.
- Wash your hands with soap or use hand sanitizer.
- Sneeze with tissue or into one’s sleeve.
- Get vaccinated.
A total of 54.1 million doses of H1N1 vaccine have now been made
available to states, and all but 7% of those have been ordered. This is
an 11 million dose increase in the past week. Four of the five licensed
H1N1 vaccine manufacturers are supplying product; GlaxoSmithKline, the
last manufacturer licensed by FDA, has not yet delivered products. About
one-quarter of the available doses are MedImmune’s intranasal
FluMist product, according to information released earlier in the week
during a stakeholder’s conference call.
Children and adolescents who have died from H1N1 infections have
often had concomitant bacterial infections, Schuchat said. More
widespread use of pneumococcal vaccine could help prevent these
superinfections, and she encouraged parents to seek immunizations for
their children at physician offices and pharmacies.
Web links
L. Michael Posey, BPharm (mposey@aphanet.org)
Posted November 20, 2009
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