Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Fall 2008)

While we take precautions to protect our families from the possibility of natural disasters, terrorism and other distant threats, a familiar predator is often allowed into our homes unchecked.

While many of us dismiss seasonal influenza as “only the flu,” it is actually a highly contagious viral infection with the potential to unleash a major threat to our community.

For an otherwise healthy individual, a bout with the flu often means being bedridden with a throbbing headache, body aches, fever, runny nose and a sore throat. For children, the illness can also be accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. In practical terms, this translates into the inconvenience of several days missed from work or school.

But for someone whose health is already compromised, getting the flu can have grave consequences.
An estimated 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu each year. Complications of seasonal flu result in more than 36,000 deaths annually in the United States.

“Influenza is a miserable illness that hits you like a truck and knocks you down for a few days to a week—plus a cough that can linger for weeks longer,” says Dr. Bruce Cooper, medical director for the Health District of Northern Larimer County. “It is also an illness that is preventable.”

You’ve heard what’s coming next before, but it bears repeating: Get your flu shot.

“The flu vaccination is just one of those things you should put on your calendar every year,” Cooper says.
Specifically put it on your calendar for mid-October, when the vaccine will be finished and available.

Keep in mind it takes about two weeks for the vaccine to work. Don’t put off getting vaccinated because you think the protection won’t “last.”

“There have been studies showing that the vaccine’s protection lasts a minimum of a year,” says Chandra Klien, immunization supervisor for the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment.

According to Susanne Murray, a flu surveillance expert who works alongside Klien, sporadic cases of the flu usually begin occurring in our area by early December, with the majority of flu cases reported from the end of January into March (peaking in February).

If being bedridden for a week isn’t motivation enough to get the flu shot, do it for the greater good.

“It’s important not only because it’s a miserable disease to get yourself, but it’s not something you want to spread to those you love and live with,” Cooper says.

This is especially important if those you live with are vulnerable to the effects of the illness: the very young (children younger than 6 months are too young to get the vaccine and are at the highest risk for hospitalization from complications), the elderly (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends shots for everyone over 50) and those with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease.

This year the CDC expanded its recommendations for who should get the flu shot to children 5 to 18 years old—previously the recommendation was only for children 6 months to 4 years of age.

“There have been a lot of studies showing that school-age children are the most likely to bring the flu into the home,” Klien said. “While these children may not suffer complications, they serve as spreaders of the illness.”

Still have reservations? Chances are they are based on misconceptions.

Myth #1: You can get the flu from the flu shot.

“It’s fairly rare to be able to use the word ‘impossible,’” but I can say that it is impossible to get the flu from the flu shot,” Cooper says. “The shot contains chemical components from the flu virus but not the virus itself. It’s more likely that your hamburger would jump up and say ‘Moo’ than you would get the flu from the flu shot.”
Keep in mind that the nasal-mist flu vaccine some people get—another effective method to combat the flu—is different from the flu shot. The nasal vaccine is made from a live weakened virus and can cause a localized reaction, most commonly a runny nose.

Myth #2: You can still get a different strain of the flu after getting a flu shot.

“Every year the World Health Organization does worldwide surveillance to see what types of flu are circulating and then creates the vaccine based on forecasts about what virus subtypes are most likely to cause illness during the next flu season,” Cooper explains. “Sometimes the match is better than others, but even when it’s not an exact match, you still get protection from the flu vaccine.”

Myth #3: You can still get the “stomach flu” even after getting a flu shot.

“I have people tell me that they get the flu every year and it’s not that bad,” Klien says. “Then they describe their symptoms, and what they had wasn’t the flu.”

Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea can be caused by many different viruses, bacteria or even parasites. The flu is a respiratory disease and not a stomach or intestinal disease (though kids with the flu may also have stomach symptoms).

“You know it when you have real influenza,” Klien says. “And once people have had it, they never forgo their shot again.”