The month of December typically marks the start of the seasonal flu season. But since the emergence of the H1N1 swine flu back in April, nothing has been typical about influenza, one of the most common infectious diseases. Some experts are speculating that seasonal flu may not be much of a factor in the weeks and months to come, once it’s “crowded out” by swine flu.
If true, such a scenario could greatly benefit older adults — especially those 65 and older — who are most vulnerable to seasonal flu. But a flu season dominated by H1N1 swine flu would spell continuing trouble for children, younger adults (those under 65) and pregnant women, all of whom have been targeted by the newly discovered disease.
In fact, in the Southern Hemisphere, which recently emerged from its winter flu season, very little seasonal flu was diagnosed at all and most infections were caused by H1N1 flu. In Australia, H1N1 is dominating all of the circulating strains. It was responsible for 80 percent or more of all of the circulating flu.
But will the same thing happen in North America? Flu experts think so. A seasonal flu outbreak in January and February is possible but will probably be diminished. Experts still think it’s a good idea to get a seasonal flu shot, but believe the H1N1 vaccine is more important now because there could be another large outbreak of the swine flu.
The H1N1 swine flu continues to strike children and young adults the hardest, probably because it’s been more than a half century since the H1N1 virus was at a pandemic level, leaving younger people with little or no immunity to the current strain. The CDC estimates that from April, when the swine flu first appeared, to the middle of November, 47 million Americans had come down with the virus. The good news is that the illness continues to produce mild-to-moderate symptoms in most people and recovery usually takes about a week.
Over the same eight months, nearly 10,000 people died from the H1N1 flu — the majority of them children and young adults — and 213,000 people were hospitalized. The number of children and young adults killed through mid-November was five times more than an average flu season.
Have you had your swine flu vaccine? Visit our Yorba Linda office today while supplies last!
