Lurking this flu season is a more dangerous strain of flu that could cause deadly complications, especially in the elderly.
Now is the time to get a flu shot, says the Centers for Disease Control.
Organized vaccination campaigns are conducted in October through mid-November.
Of the three influenza virus strains expected to circulate, the Type A-Wuhan virus is the most dangerous.
The others are Type A-Texas and Type B.
"The more viruses like Wuhan, the more people die," said Nancy Arden of the CDC.
The current flu vaccine works against all three flu strains.
A strain similar to Type A-Wuhan caused 38 percent of all cases of the flu in the United States last year.
If the elderly or those who are chronically ill get this strain, they are more likely to get pneumonia or other life-threatening illnesses.
The CDC recommends that high-risk individuals and their family members get a flu shot.
High-risk patients are hospitalized two to five times more often during a major epidemic. About 20,000 flu-related deaths occur yearly.
High-risk groups include the following:
People 65 years of age and older.
People who reside in nursing homes or chronic-care facilities.
People with heart or lung disorders.
People with complications during the past year due to chronic metabolic disorders, kidney dysfunction, hemoglobinopathies or immunosuppression.
People ages 6 months to 18 years using aspirin therapy who are at risk for developing Reye's syndrome.
People in frequent contact with someone at high risk for influenza-related complications.
So why is a new flu shot with a different vaccine required each year?
"All viruses mutate [change], and every season there's a new strain of flu circulating," said virologist Randall Owen of St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis.
"Once it affects one person, it undergoes several mutations. So the virus I get infected with may be a little bit different from that one that I then transmit to the next person -- that's the rapid rate at which flu can mutate."
There's no cure for the flu, but a vaccination can prevent it or reduce its severity.
You won't get the flu from taking a flu shot, contrary to what some people fear.
The vaccine is made from killed virus.
Common flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, muscle aches and extreme fatigue.
Pub Date: 10/13/96
