SFIC Blogs
November 22, 2011
Got A Flu Shot?
Alusha Mamchak, Ph.D, Immunologist
It is late-November and important to remember that it is not too late to get a flu shot. I got the flu shot to protect myself from infection by the influenza virus, which is the virus that causes the flu and induces a combination of symptoms including: a cough, sore throat, runny or congested nose, fever, chills, muscle and head aches. Influenza usually leaves one feeling awful and needing to spend several days (at least) in bed.The flu is not just another cold. Influenza and the common cold are both caused by viruses that infect cells in the upper respiratory tract, but they are caused by very different viruses. While the common cold and influenza may share similar symptoms the symptoms caused by influenza tend to be much more severe. Moreover, influenza can lead to serious complications like pneumonia that may result in hospitalization or death especially in susceptible individuals, including babies that are too young to be immunized, the elderly and those with health conditions that cause decreased immune function. In 2009 more than 18,000 people died world wide from infection with a new strain of influenza, know as H1N1, according to the World Health Organization.
Influenza is easily spread from person to person through contact with virus containing respiratory droplets produced though coughing, spitting or sneezing. We can also catch the flu by coming in contact with anything that has been contaminated with virus containing respiratory droplets by shaking hands, sharing a glass, or touching a contaminated surface, such as a phone or door knob, and subsequently touching our nose, mouth or eyes. Its not clear how long the virus can survive and still be infectious on a contaminated surface, it may be as little as a few minutes to as long as a day or two. What is clear is that influenza is infectious and easily transmitted.
Fortunately protection from influenza is easily obtained through getting an annual flu shot and by using good hand washing technique. The flu shot is a vaccine that contains inactivated influenza virus; because the virus in the vaccine is inactivated it cannot cause disease, and the shot is usually given by injection in the upper arm.
As the influenza virus has a number of different strains that vary in their activity (likelihood of causing an infection) from year to year the flu shot is reformulated each year so that it contains the strains of influenza that have been most active. Reformulating the flu shot each year results in the most protection from infection, but it also means that you need to get the flu shot every year as the precise composition of the vaccine varies annually. This year’s flu shot contains inactivated; influenza A California/7/2009 (H1N1) virus, influenza A Perth/16/2009 virus and influenza B Brisbane/60/2008 virus. Each strain is named for when and where it was first isolated. The flu shot contains an inactivated H1N1 strain of influenza so you only need one flu shot this year as opposed to 2009 when there were two.
Looking down the road several years, scientists are currently working on a universal flu vaccine that will provide protection from all strains of influenza and eliminate the need to get a flu shot every year. However, until the universal vaccine is available the annual flu shot offers us the best protection from influenza.
Like all vaccines the flu shot induces protection from infection by educating the immune system and teaching it to kill a specific infectious disease-causing organism. For the flu shot that organism is influenza. The flu shot does this by inducing an immune response that leads to the generation of white blood cells that specifically recognize influenza and are capable of rapidly responding and killing the virus before it can cause disease. The immune response to the flu shot takes about two weeks to reach maximal protection so getting the flu shot now means you will be fully protected once winter sets in and the flu season starts.
Now that I have had my flu shot, I am protected from influenza and ready for the days to turn cold and rainy. In getting the flu shot I am not only protecting myself but also helping to protect my friends, family and members of my community because when the vaccination rate is high there are fewer unprotected people who can be infected with the influenza virus and spread it unintentionally too their family, friends, neighbors and colleagues.
So getting the flu shot is a win win situation, it’s good for you and good for the community. Enjoy the winter without with out fear of catching influenza by having your annual flu shot.
For more information on influenza and the flu shot visit -
www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season
February 19, 2010
The Wakefield MMR Controversy and the Importance of Coalitions
Andrew Resignato, SFIC Director
By now you have heard that the controversial paper linking the MMR vaccine to autism has been retracted by the journal Lancet which published it a
decade ago. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/health/research/03lancet.html
In the UK Wakefield's research has been deemed dishonest and unethical. His new "monkey study" which has been touted by Jenny McCarthy and Jim
Carrey as a "gamechanger" has been withdrawn by the Journal Neurotoxicology.
So how did his original study involving just 12 research subjects cause such a controversy, lead to a fear and backlash against vaccination, and cause large outbreaks of measles and mumps? The answer can be quite complex but here are some major factors that drove the scare and continue to cause
people to question vaccines:
1. Autism diagnoses continue to rise and the reasons are generally unknown.
2. Many people of varying political ideology no longer trust larger institutions in society like "Big Business" (vaccine makers) or "Big Governement" (vaccine regulators).
3. People's knowledge and ability to interpret scientific results are weak
4. The Internet has lead to the proliferation of more information to the masses as never before. Not all of that information is accurate.
5. Some people believe celebrities over doctors
And this is why Coalitions are still so relevant. Coalitons can act as health education organizations that do not represent soley government or business but are indenpedent entities. Coalitons must help decipher scientific information for the public and provide objective, science-based information for the communities they serve. Coalitons like SFIC, can also serve as sounding boards for the people who are responsible for making sure communities are protected from disease by appropriately immunizing them. This includes health care, school, child care, public health, and social service personnel. These people must be armed with the most up-to-date, accurate, and useful information - Coalitions can help do that.
Since vaccines were developed they have been questioned by society. This questioning will not and should not end. But it is up to us to make sure people are provided the best, most complete, and useful information when making all health care decisions including vaccination. We have more work
to do!
June 1, 2009
Pertussis: A Forgotten But Deadly Disease
A new study released in the Journal Pediatrics has confirmed what many of us in public health already knew: children whose parents refuse to have them vaccinated are more likely to get and spread pertussis. Some people are likely to say so what. Is pertussis really that common or serious? The answer to both those questions is yes.
Recently, my organization was contacted by a woman named Mariah Bianchi. Mariah is a mother, a health care worker, and a San Francisco resident. In 2005, Mariah gave birth to her second child, Dylan. In her words, “He was a healthy, beautiful baby and the easiest delivery a mother could ask for.”
Up to a couple weeks before and during the delivery Mariah had a low-grade fever, runny nose, and severe cough. “Our pediatrician casually mentioned pertussis and despite being a nurse, I did not know much about it.,” she said. So on the day of discharge she asked her doctor and was told that pertussis, also known as whooping cough, wasn't seen anymore, that viral infections are going around this time of year and could cause the symptoms she had. “I went home hoping hand washing and breastfeeding would help protect Dylan from getting this ‘cold’,” said Mariah.
When she returned from the hospital her cough continued. Within the next few weeks, she sought second and third opinions about her condition which seemed to be worsening. She was eventually tested for pertussis. At the same time Mariah noticed that her baby would fall asleep during feeding. The child’s doctor wanted to get an x-ray of Dylan’s lungs to make sure he didn’t have pneumonia.
Less than twenty-four hours later Dylan was unable to breathe on his own, his immune system was failing, and his heart and kidneys were shutting down. Pertussis was quickly taking over his body. The very next day, after failed efforts of resuscitation, Dylan died of complications from pertussis which he had caught from his mother.
Mariah said, “I will never forget holding him in those last moments helpless… powerless…lifeless.”
Mariah is now actively working with the Coalition and speaking out about her experience because, as she says, “I don’t want to see any family suffer the way mine has.”
Unfortunately, this tragic story has become a familiar one with over 40 deaths of children due to pertussis complications over the last decade in California alone. Across the U.S. there are similar stories including the latest one in Idaho in April.
In fact, pertussis is a lot more common than most people and even health care providers realize. Just type pertussis in an internet NEWS search and you will read about outbreaks and sometimes deaths occurring currently throughout the U.S. Pertussis is one of the only diseases that we routinely vaccinate for in which the incidence (new cases) has been on the rise over the last decade.
There may be two reasons for this increase. The first is that many people are skipping or delaying vaccination for their children. The second reason is that the immunity from the disease that many adolescents and adults received from their childhood vaccines has worn off (immunity lasts between 5 -10 years). These people serve as a large reservoir for the disease, which is frequently undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. In adults, pertussis is a seriously uncomfortable and long-lasting illness (up to 10 weeks of coughing). However, when adults spread it to young children the results can be debilitating and deadly, as Dylan’s example confirms.
Children should be up to date on their immunizations to provide full protection and prevent the spread of this deadly and highly infectious disease. The risks from diseases like pertussis outweigh the risks from the vaccine. In addition, a vaccine called Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) is now available for people ages 10 to 64 which will boost their immunity and protection from pertussis. Unfortunately, this vaccine has gotten little fanfare or attention resulting in low uptake. Those who will come in contact with young children are especially urged to get a Tdap vaccination. Tdap is also recommended as a replacement for routine tetanus vaccinations. As more people receive a Tdap the reservoir of disease in adolescents and adults should decrease and ultimately prevent the spread to very young, vulnerable children.
With some more awareness and action we can reduce the prevalence of pertussis and prevent Mariah and Dylan’s story from repeating itself.