Flu season: What everyone should know

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ninos Chamoun
  • 51st Aerospace Medicine Squadron
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  For anyone who has ever had the flu, you know it can knock you out--with family members, friends and co-workers not far behind.

Today, it's more important than ever to get the facts straight about flu--and be aware there are vaccines available to prevent flu.

While 2009 H1N1 is likely to be the most common flu virus this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff expects regular seasonal flu viruses to cause illness as well and recommends a yearly seasonal flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against seasonal influenza.

The vaccine available today protects against the seasonal flu viruses and the 2009 H1N1 strain. All uniformed personnel of the U.S. Armed Forces have a mandatory obligation to receive the vaccine every year, unless they are medically unable to receive it. It is highly recommended for all others and here's why:

"People who do not get vaccinated are taking two risks: they are placing themselves at risk for the flu, including a potentially long and serious illness, and second, if they get sick, they are also placing their close contacts at risk for influenza," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service and CDC's Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "Flu can be especially serious for babies, young children, pregnant women, people with certain chronic medical conditions, and seniors who are at high risk of flu‐related complications or death. Influenza--whether seasonal or 2009 H1N1--is not a disease to be taken lightly."

Members can get vaccinated with either a flu shot (for people six months and older) or a nasal spray vaccine (for healthy people 2 years through 49 years of age who are not pregnant). It's important to realize that influenza vaccine cannot give someone the flu. Why? Because the injected flu shot contains inactivated (killed) viruses, and the nasal spray contains attenuated (weakened) viruses, which cannot cause flu illness.

For those who get the flu soon after getting the flu vaccine, it means that person may have been exposed to the virus shortly before getting vaccinated or during the two‐week period it takes the body to gain protection after getting vaccinated, or the person might be sick with a non‐flu respiratory virus that has similar symptoms of the flu.

Both 2009 H1N1 flu and seasonal flu viruses are thought to spread mostly from person to person through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick with flu. It can also be transferred by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching one's eyes, mouth or nose. Everyone should remember to cover their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, and wash hands often with soap and water. It's also smart to avoid close contact with people who are sick.

For people who are very sick from flu and are hospitalized or people who are sick with flu symptoms and are at increased risk for serious flu complications, antiviral drugs are available and can help make illness milder and shorten the time sick. For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started within the first two days of symptoms.

So fight the flu by following the CDC recommended three‐step approach: vaccination; everyday preventive actions and seeking prompt medical attention at the onset of symptoms.