Influenza Vaccines

Antibiotics should not be given to patients with acute purulent rhinitis (a runny nose with coloured discharge), a familiar feature of the common cold, concludes a study published on bmj.com today. Antibiotics are probably effective for acute purulent rhinitis, say the authors. They can cause harm but most patients will get better without antibiotics. Vaccines can be given to prevent flu related disease.

While studying new techniques to produce vaccines for Marek's disease, a common chicken disease that causes big losses for poultry producers, Paul Coussens, MSU professor of animal science and microbiology and molecular genetics, and his colleagues found a cell line that had intriguing potential for growing flu virus - a change from the fertilized chicken eggs that are now used to grow the virus strains for vaccines.

There may be a simple way to provide elderly Americans with extra protection against the annual flu virus: give them a higher dose of seasonal flu vaccine. This idea is suggested by the results of a newly reported clinical trial supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

"Elderly Americans are among the most vulnerable to serious complications of influenza because they generally have more underlying diseases and weaker immune systems than younger people," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "These findings are an important first step in developing new strategies to better protect the elderly against influenza-associated hospitalizations and mortality."

Influenza accounts for some 36,000 deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations every year in the United States . It is among America 's most lethal killers simply because the virus infects so many people - some 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population every year.

Bed rest and plenty of fluids constitute the first step in treatment of influenza. Flu victims 50 years old or older, however, may be given antibiotics to prevent pneumonia. Acetaminophen (Tylenol), or Ibuprofen can relieve head and muscle aches. Aspirin should be avoided for children. One should see to the doctor after three days of fever of over 102 F., if cough brings up heavy mucus, if there is increasing difficulty in breathing, if flu-like symptoms continue from 10 days to three weeks.