CDC Asks States To Report Child Flu Deaths in Likely Epidemic

[Guest guest]

What I think is most important about this article is the very last

paragraph... 42 deaths, 7 with known flu shot history... " Only 2

of the 7 " had a flu shot... Implying better compliance, fewer

deaths... But how do you explain that nearly 1/3 of the children

who died, HAD received the flu shot??? By their own admission

this " vital " flu shot that everyone is clammering about had a 1/3

failure rate? Things that make you go, hmmmmmm...

Other comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

CDC asks states to report child flu deaths in likely epidemic

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-

0312200211dec20,1,2277516.story

 

By Daniel Yee

Associated Press

Published December 20, 2003

 

ATLANTA -- The nation's top health agency on Friday stepped up its

response to the unusually early outbreak of flu, launching response

teams to states and asking all health departments nationwide to

report flu deaths of children.

 

Characterizing the outbreak as a likely epidemic, the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention also sought post-mortem tissue

samples, autopsy reports and flu virus samples from fatally stricken

children.

 

Earlier Friday, Dr. Julie Gerberding, the CDC director, said 42

children have died from the flu this season.

 

She said the CDC field teams will help states deal with the outbreak

and evaluate the effectiveness of this year's flu shot. The CDC also

activated its emergency operations center to coordinate its efforts.

 

Gerberding said it's too soon to determine how severe this flu

season will turn out to be. But in response to a question at a news

conference, she said the number of cases and the child deaths

indicate the outbreak could be classified as an epidemic. She said

the season has followed " typical " flu patterns but started much

earlier than usual.

 

The CDC has never required states to report flu deaths, largely

because it is hard to distinguish flu from other winter viruses. But

the agency has been concerned about the number of normally healthy

children dying from this year's flu strain.

 

The agency has estimated that about 92 children under age 5

typically die each year from flu, but that is based on computer

models and " in fact is a ballpark estimate, " Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the

CDC's top flu epidemiologist, said this week.

 

The child deaths from flu are " very sobering and very worrisome, "

Gerberding said, adding that at least 16 of the children who died

were ill before catching the flu and that more than half the deaths

involved children under 5.

 

Twenty-one of the children were previously healthy and three

developed a drug-resistant bacterial infection that complicated

their flu treatment. The CDC said they had flu shot data on only

seven of the deaths; only two of those children had received a flu

shot.

 

At least 36 states have been labeled by the agency as having

widespread flu activity, and no state has been untouched.

 

2003, Chicago Tribune