Press Releases

Physicians at Children's Hospital of New Jersey at
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Offer Updated Prevention and Treatment Tips for Seasonal Flu

Newark, NJ -- A study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases showed that immunization of 85 percent of all schoolchildren in Tecumseh, Michigan against influenza resulted in a 3-fold reduction in the infection rate in other age groups. Despite this, national vaccination rates among children at increased risk for influenza complications remain low. Coverage among children aged 2-17 years with asthma for the 2004-05 influenza season was estimated to be 29 percent.

Most Americans have had some experience with seasonal flu, a respiratory
illness that strikes annually. Seasonal flu is not a benign illness -- it kills about 36,000 and hospitalizes over 200,000 people in the United States every year. It poses an important threat to the unvaccinated, especially young children.

“Children are inherently more at risk because they congregate in groups,” reports Maria Espiritu-Fuller, M.D.MPH, Director of Infection Control at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey. "Influenza in children of all ages can cause severe infections leading to missed school, doctor visits and hospitalizations. Hospitalization rates for preschoolers are similar to the hospitalization rates among high-risk adults.”

Flu Prevention
Federal health officials have expanded the age range for recommended seasonal
flu vaccination of children. Currently, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that all children between the ages of 6-59 months of age receive the annual flu vaccine and that previously unvaccinated children from 5 through 8 years of age receive 2 doses of vaccine the first time they are vaccinated.

Children younger than 2 years old, even if they are otherwise healthy, are more likely than older children to be hospitalized with serious complications if they become ill with influenza. These complications can include pneumonia, dehydration, and other bacterial infections. In some cases, complications can lead to death. Each year in the U.S., there are more than 20,000 children age five and younger hospitalized due to flu.

Treating Seasonal Influenza
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are four drugs available to treat and/or prevent seasonal influenza. These are: amantadine, rimantadine, zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu). The Food and Drug Administration has approved all of them to treat, and most of them to prevent, flu caused by influenza A, while only zanamavir and oseltamivir are able to treat and prevent flu caused by influenza B.

However, during recent flu seasons -- and for the 2007-2008 flu season – the CDC has recommended against using amantadine and rimantadine for seasonal flu because influenza A viruses are becoming increasingly resistant to both drugs. CDC has urged that these two drugs not be used again until influenza A viruses once again become susceptible to them.

The FDA has approved oseltamivir to treat [it is approved for both treatment and chemoprophylaxis of influenza] in children one year and older. Zanamivir is licensed and FDA-approved to treat children 5 years of age and older for the prevention of influenza. All of the drugs except zanamivir are taken orally in pill or suspension form. Zanamivir comes in a dry powder and is inhaled using a device known as a “Diskhaler.”

On average, the drugs reduce the duration of flu symptoms by about one day if taken within the first 48 hours after illness begins. As a preventive, antivirals significantly reduce the chances of becoming ill during a flu outbreak.

Limiting the Spread of Flu
Studies have indicated that school children are the population group most responsible for transmission of contagious respiratory viruses. They have a high attack rate of influenza infection because they have limited pre-existing immunity and once infected, transmit influenza viruses to many others even before they have symptoms.

Children gather in groups-- in school, in daycare settings, on playgrounds,
in households -- and often are unintentionally careless when it comes to their
personal hygiene. While it is challenging to try to teach very young children to cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough and to get them to wash their hands frequently, these efforts are the best method preventing transmission of germs.

About Children's Hospital

Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is the state's premier hospital caring for children, with specialized services to treat ill and injured children from newborn to adolescent years as well as preventive programs that promote wellness. The facility provides an atmosphere of caring and warmth that complements the extraordinary medical care that is delivered by medical and surgical specialists dedicated exclusively to children's health. The hospital's comprehensive inpatient and outpatient pediatric services include a licensed cardiac surgery program, state-designated regional perinatal center, the state’s largest pediatric intensive care unit, pediatric emergency department, Neonatal Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)/Apnea Center, Valerie Fund Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, neonatal ICU with New Jersey's only ECMO unit, HIV/AIDS treatment for children as well as a sexual and child abuse program.            

For a referral to a pediatrician or pediatric specialist,
please call 1-888-SBHS-123.

DATE: November 14, 2007

CONTACT: Beth Salamon, Public Relations, (973) 322-4926

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