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
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
| Author | Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Terrina Vail |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | W. David Colby IV, MSc, MD, FRCPC - Infectious Disease |
| Last Updated | September 29, 2006 |
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