Time for a flu vaccination

While it’s still early in the season, 16 cases of the flu were reported by Teche Regional Medical Center’s emergency room between Sept. 1 and Tuesday.
Sabrina Roy, hospital spokeswoman, said the 11 cases in September and five in October are not indicative of a spike in disease.
Typically, she said, the hospital sees its largest numbers of cases in December and January with a sharp decline in numbers by February. This year, for example, there were 104 cases of flu seen at the hospital in January and only 35 in February, Roy said.
Dr. Robert Blereau, Centers for Disease Control sentinel physician, concurred saying he hasn’t seen many cases of the flu yet in his private practice.
Blereau noted that he did have one patient from one of the nursing homes present with type B influenza. That man was hospitalized. He also said adults typically get type A flu.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are two main types of flu virus: Types A and B.
“The influenza A and B viruses that routinely spread in people (human influenza viruses) are responsible for seasonal flu epidemics each year. Influenza A viruses can be broken down into sub-types depending on the genes that make up the surface proteins. Over the course of a flu season, different types (A & B) and subtypes (influenza A) of influenza circulate and cause illness,” the CDC website states.
WebMD.com says “Unlike type A flu viruses, type B flu is found only in humans. Type B flu may cause a less severe reaction than type A flu virus, but, occasionally, type B flu can still be extremely harmful. Influenza type B viruses are not classified by subtype and do not cause pandemics,” unlike type A.
Blereau said the flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older with a few exceptions. One of those, he said, is a severe egg allergy. He said there are no more “high-risk groups” as there were in the past. The CDC, he said, says everyone should get immunized.
The flu season runs from September through May, peaking in January, “so everyone has time to get shot and be protected,” Blereau said.
Antibodies from the flu vaccine last in the body long enough to provide protection throughout the flu season but do not last from year to year. That’s why the CDC recommends vaccinations each year, Blereau explained.
The vaccine will not prevent all cases, but it does provide 60 to 70 percent protection in a good year, the doctor said.
Blereau said he has encountered patients who are afraid that if they receive the vaccine as early as it’s available, typically in mid-August, the shot will not last the whole flu season. The CDC says that’s not true and suggests health care providers begin giving the vaccine as soon as they receive a shipment of it.
There are two types of flu vaccine — trivalent and quadrivalent. Blereau recommends the quadrivalent, containing two type A and two type B viruses. One of the biggest manufacturers of the vaccine told Blereau that 85 percent of the vaccines in Louisiana are quadrivalent.
The CDC’s website indicates two types of influenza A and one or two influenza B viruses are included in each year’s influenza vaccine. The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against influenza C viruses, which cause a mild respiratory illness and are not thought to cause epidemics.
In addition, flu vaccines will not protect against infection and illness caused by other viruses that also can cause influenza-like symptoms. There are many other non-flu viruses that can result in influenza-like illness that spread during flu season, the CDC website said.