Central Texans: Get Your Flu Shots September 16, 2009

Flu shots that protect against seasonal flu virus already are available at many locations throughout Central Texas or from your doctor. To find the location nearest you, check the American Lung Association's flu database. Just key in your zip code and it will tell you where and when you can find flu shots in your neighborhood. Vaccinations against the novel H1N1 flu virus are still in development but are expected to become available in October.

You and family members will need to be vaccinated against both the seasonal and the H1N1 flu to have the best chance of skipping it this year. Despite concerns that this years flu season may be one of the worst in recent history, some people still have reservations about getting them. We asked one of the Seton Family of Hospitals infection disease experts, Sarmistha B. Hauger, MD, Director, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Specially for Children, and Medical Director for Infection Prevention and Control at Dell Childrens Medical Center of Central Texas for her opinion. She makes a strong argument in favor of getting the vaccine.

Here's what Dr. Hauger says:

There are two kinds of people: those who believe that vaccines are a key to the health of populations and those who dont. I am in the first camp. In my opinion, short of the discovery of penicillin, no other single scientific development has had such profound beneficial effect on human kind. Vaccines have reduced or eliminated life-threatening diseases including polio, diphtheria and smallpox. In the United States, new vaccines for children have significantly decreased the level of invasive disease caused by common bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis, even in adults. Vaccines are a success story; dont believe otherwise.

Influenza vaccines were first developed in the 1940s and came into widespread use as an influenza control strategy in the late 20th century. The data show that these vaccines reduce the incidence of pneumonia and days of associated signs and symptoms. There is no question that they save the lives of people who are medically vulnerable, including pregnant women; the very old; the very young; and persons weakened by chronic conditions.

There a few things that you should know about influenza, the illness:

It kills. Each year, an estimated 36,000 people in the United States, including children, die from influenza-related causes.
It makes you sick, often with primary viral pneumonia or sometimes with neurologic complications such as Guillain-Barr (ghee-YAN bah-RAY) syndrome. An average 200,000 hospitalizations result from influenza each year.
It can affect the immune system, making you more at risk for secondary complications such as bacterial pneumonia.

That is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) strongly encourage us to be vaccinated against influenza annually.

Influenza Viruses Change

Every year, the seasonal flu virus mutates a bit. In response, WHO collaborators develop and manufacture seasonal flu vaccine at a brisk pace, adjusting the 'recipe' to manage these 'antigenic shifts.' In general, the vaccines are safe and effective, although no vaccine is 100 percent effective in preventing infection.

Every so often, however, there are major changes in the virus, often referred to as 'antigenic shifts' that allow the virus to move more easily across geographic boundaries and cause a pandemic (worldwide epidemic). Because entire populations may have little or no immunity to the new virus, there is greater potential for significant illness and death.

This is the situation we find ourselves in now. To date, the novel H1N1 virus has caused mild to moderate illness around the globe and in Central Texas, but we do not know what effect it will have in the Northern Hemisphere in the fall and winter months.

The vaccine for the new H1N1 variant has been on the fast track throughout the spring and summer. It may sound a little scary to hear that a vaccine has been 'rushed' to market until you realize that every influenza vaccine is 'rushed' to market.

Over the years, WHO and its collaborators have refined the process of developing a fully tested antigen and specifications used to produce safe, effective, sterile vaccine in a short window of time. Much of the rush refers to the many layers of measuring and testing that occur at each step in the process.

Information just released shows the H1N1 vaccine to be effective and safe for adults, although the infection control and physician community will watch carefully for and report any adverse effects beyond the normal pain at the injection site and muscle aches that dont resolve in a few days.

Data on the vaccines effectiveness among children, one of the highest risk groups, is still forthcoming. Other groups most susceptible to complications of influenza are young adults and pregnant women.

The Dell Childrens Medical Center Emergency Department, Specially for Children and pediatric physician practices across Central Texas have been operating at full tilt since the opening of school. We should each be having a discussion with our physician about the best ways to protect ourselves and our families. So, please wash your hands, use recommended prevention measures and, unless it is medically contraindicated, get your flu shots.

New information about H1N1 in adults was released on the New England Journal of Medicine Web site.

Seton Twitters Flu Updates

If you would like to keep up with the progress of flu treatment within the Seton Family of Hospitals, follow us on Twitter. Pat Crocker, D.O., Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas and Tate Erlinger, MD, who leads Infection Prevention and Control for the Seton Family of Hospitals.

You can also find more local information for the Central Texas area on Seton.net, including convenient links to area and national organizations with the latest information about flu spread in Texas, the United States and the world.

Sarmistha B. Hauger, MD
Pediatric Infectious Disease
Specially for Children
1301 Barbara Jordan Blvd, Ste 200
Austin, TX 78723
Phone: (512) 628-1820

Dr. Hauger, has more than 25 years of experience in treating pediatric infectious diseases and consulting on childrens international health issues. She also is an active faculty member of the Austin Pediatric Education Program, in charge of the Infectious Disease curriculum for physicians in training in pediatric medicine. She received her undergraduate training at the University of Texas at El Paso. She received her medical degree from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in 1976, and completed her pediatric residency and pediatric infectious diseases fellowship training at the University of Chicago, Wyler Children's Hospital. After training, she was on the faculties of the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine in Chicago, IL, and at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, NY. Dr. Hauger is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, and the Subspecialty Board of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Dr. Hauger is an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Infectious Disease Society of America, Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, Texas Pediatric Society and the Texas Medical Association. She is a board member of the Central Texas Pediatric Alliance. She has lectured extensively on pediatric infectious disease topics, and has authored numerous journal articles and served in advisor capacity to public health authorities, both in Texas and New York.

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