Talking About Influenza: A Serious Disease

Influenza, more commonly referred to as "the flu," is a highly contagious viral infection of the nose, throat and lungs. Influenza results in more than 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths in the U.S. each year and leads to countless missed work and school days. It is a serious infection which afflicts more than 60 million Americans every year. Combined with pneumonia, it's the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S.

The best way to protect against influenza is to receive an influenza vaccination every year. While anyone can get vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) and other health authorities make specific recommendations for those at higher risk of complications. Health care workers, parents, and others who live or work around people at increased risk of influenza should get vaccinated as well to help reduce the risk of spreading the virus to susceptible people. Individuals with severe hypersensitivity to eggs and those who have had a previous vaccine-associated allergic reaction should avoid vaccination.

Influenza vaccination should begin when vaccine is available in the community and continue throughout the entire season. Most people concentrate on vaccination during the fall and winter months, but vaccination is beneficial well into the New Year: the virus often continues to circulate through the spring. The number of influenza cases usually peaks around February, but this peak can come earlier or later (ranging from December to May).

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) is committed to increasing public awareness of the importance of annual influenza vaccination. To find out more about influenza and protection through vaccination, visit the links in this section for consumers/patients, health care professionals and the media.

> Influenza Myths
> Facts About Influenza
> Are You At Risk?
> Immunization Record Card