Avian Flu Diary: Study: Kids, Underlying Conditions, And The 2009 Pandemic Flu

# 6522

The chart above illustrates the sharp rise in pediatric deaths from flu-related complications during the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic seasons in the United States. As grim as this charts is, it probably doesn’t fully represent the burden the 2009 pandemic placed on the pediatric community.

In another chart, again from the CDC, we get an estimate of deaths related to the 2009 pandemic, broken down by age groups through April of 2010.

While just over 300 pediatric deaths were recorded during this time period, the CDC estimates that 4 times (n=1280) that many children likely died from flu-related illness in the United States.

Globally, the number was undoubtedly many times higher than that (see Lancet: Estimating Global 2009 Pandemic Mortality).

All of which serves as prelude to a new study that appears today in the journal Pediatrics, that looks at 336 documented pH1N1-associated deaths, and finds a high number of kids with underlying neurologic conditions.

Two-thirds of all deaths in children under the age of 17 occurred in kids with at least 1 underlying medical condition (n=227), and just under half of all cases (n=146) involved neurological disorders, such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or intellectual disability.

Neurologic Disorders Among Pediatric Deaths Associated With the 2009 Pandemic Influenza

Lenee Blanton, MPH^a,Georgina Peacock, MD, MPH, FAAP^b, Chad Cox, MD, MPH^a, Michael Jhung, MD, MPH^a, Lyn Finelli, DrPH^a, and Cynthia Moore, MD, PhD^b

ABSTRACT (Excerpts)

RESULTS: Of 336 pH1N1-associated pediatric deaths with information on underlying conditions, 227 (68%) children had at least 1 underlying condition that conferred an increased risk of complications of influenza. Neurologic disorders were most frequently reported (146 of 227 [64%]), and, of those disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy and intellectual disability were most common.

CONCLUSIONS: Neurologic disorders were reported in nearly two-thirds of pH1N1-associated pediatric deaths with an underlying medical condition. Because of the potential for severe outcomes, children with underlying neurologic disorders should receive influenza vaccine and be treated early and aggressively if they develop influenza-like illness.

According to a statement released last night by the CDC:

Of the children with neurologic disorders for whom information on vaccination status was available, only 21 (23 percent) had received the seasonal influenza vaccine and 2 (3 percent) were fully vaccinated for 2009 H1N1.

With September just around the corner, the annual push for flu vaccinations is upon us, and today’s study will hopefully help inspire parents to get all kids – regardless of underlying conditions - vaccinated against influenza.

While the effectiveness of flu vaccines vary from year-to-year, and indeed, from one person to the next, they remain the single most important preventative step you can take to avoid getting the flu each year.

Despite the hyperbolic anti-vaccine rhetoric often found on the Internet, the truth is, serious adverse reactions to the vaccine are exceedingly rare (see the CDC’s Influenza Vaccine Safety).

With two new strains of seasonal flu expected to be in circulation this winter (Yamagata B, and the Victoria H3N2) – ones that will be covered by this year’s vaccine – getting the flu shot this year is doubly important.

CDC recommends that just about everyone aged 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccination, and stresses their importance for those who are at greater risk of serious complications.

For more on vaccine safety and effectiveness, the CDC maintains extensive web pages, and resources, on seasonal flu vaccines, including: