October
means flu vaccine time has arrived. We
always get a flu shot and believe it helps keep us healthy. What should we know about the flu vaccine?
Historically,
influenza (flu) is an old, recurring contagious disease. As far back as 412 B.C., Hippocrates (the
Father of Medicine) wrote about a major flu epidemic. In 1918, the influenza epidemic killed 40
million people. Another smaller epidemic
in 1957 killed between one and two million people. A more recent flu epidemic, in 1968, killed
700,000 people. (Moore, P., The Little Book of Pandemics, (New York
City: Fall River Press, 2007), 10-14.)
We should be
thankful that in 1952 the World Health Organization set up a network of
scientists and doctors who monitor the flu strains around the world. They use their knowledge of which flu viruses
are causing problems world-wide and determine the mixture of three virus strains
which make up the flu vaccine. There are
no guarantees that the influenza virus won’t mutate into a new and potent strain
but most years the flu vaccine does its job of protecting people. According to the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC), the strains of flu virus in the vaccine have been the correct ones to
protect people in the last 18 out of 22 years.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2012-2013.htm#what-years
No comments:
Post a Comment