Healthy Children Among Seasonal Flu Deaths
As reported in a December 2005 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that one-third of the 153 children killed by the seasonal flu in the United States during the 2003-2004 flu season were dead within three days of becoming ill, many of whom were perfectly healthy before they were stricken. Nearly two-thirds of the deaths were in children under 5 years of age, and 12 percent were younger than 6 months. The published report is the first detailed report on flu deaths among children from this flu season.
While not particularly severe, the 2003-2004 flu season began earlier than anticipated. Epidemiologist Niranjan Bhat, the CDC's lead researcher, stated that two findings surprised him: how fast the illnesses developed and the number of children who were otherwise perfectly healthy. Bhat further stated that the findings led the CDC's immunization advisory committee to urge that all children 6 to 23 months old get flu shots, which is consistent with the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
For information regarding the flu, including signs and symptoms as well as vaccination information, please visit the websites of the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics.