# 3913
More evidence, presented at the IDSA (the Infectious Diseases Society of America) in Philadelphia this week, indicating that children shed the influenza virus longer than adults.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this sort of data (see Swine Flu: The Gift That Keeps On Giving).
The guidance from the CDC for staying home, and not going to work or school, has been scaled back from at least 7 days or 24 hours after symptoms disappear – to 24 hours after fever is gone (without using fever reducing drugs).
Which means that some people may be returning to work or school following an illness while still shedding the virus.
Whether this really makes much of a difference is debatable.
Shedding enough virus to be detectable by today’s modern RT-PCR testing or culture, and being contagious and able to spread the virus, may be two entirely different propositions.
It it is believed that people can shed the flu virus for to 24 hours before ever showing symptoms – and that some may carry the virus asymptomatically, and spread the virus to others - without ever falling ill themselves (see They Walk Among Us ).
All of which makes it virtually impossible to keep the virus out of the schools and workplace. Since you can’t tell who is shedding the virus and who isn’t, the only real defense is to get vaccinated, and to practice good flu hygiene.
This report from Medpage Today.
IDSA: Kids Shed H1N1 Flu Longer than Adults
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: October 30, 2009
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
PHILADELPHIA -- Children appear to shed particles of the H1N1 pandemic flu virus longer than adults do, which may have implications for how long they stay out of school, a researcher said here.
The finding comes from an analysis of an outbreak in a Pennsylvania elementary school in May and June, according to Achuyt Bhattarai, MD, of the CDC.
Analysis of a series of specimens from affected children and their household contacts also showed that younger children tended to shed the virus longer than older kids, Bhattarai told attendees at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
