Who is affected by influenza

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Who is affected by influenza

The severity of influenza varies widely from year to year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):¹

• An average of approximately 142,000 hospitalizations have occurred each year in the United States since 1968 as a result of type-A flu epidemics.
• The number of cases of flu is highest during the winter months.
• Children have the highest rates of infection, but illness usually is mild in otherwise healthy children age 2 and older. However, more study is needed in determining and minimizing the risk of severe influenza-related complications in children.
• Deaths from the flu are highest in people older than 65 and people of any age who have serious medical conditions. More than 90% of flu-related deaths occur in older adults.

Because the flu virus is contagious, it spreads easily among people who live close together, such as in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. The numbers of people affected and the death rates can be high.

Children age 1 and younger are hospitalized for influenza-related illness at a rate that is comparable to that of adults age 65 and older.¹

Flu and its complications caused an average of 36,000 deaths in the U.S. between 1990 and 1999.¹

References

Citations

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004). Prevention and control of influenza: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR, 53(RR-6): 1–44. Also available online: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/RR/RR5306.pdf. [Erratum: (2004). MMWR, 53(RR-6): 743. Also available online: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5332a8.htm.]

Credits

Last updated:	September 29, 2006
Author:	Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC
Reviewed By:	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine, W. David Colby, MSc, MD, FRCPC - Infectious Disease
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Terrina Vail