Kids and the flu

As we all start to fret in earnest about the potential for an avian flu outbreak, let's spend a moment thinking about kids and the flu. I'm not going to get into the scary stories surrounding avian bird flu, and the potential for a pandemic. I believe that everyone is getting ahead of themselves on that story. Mind you, this is a very good thing for public health pros and disaster planners to do. But for now I think that we're better off remaining calm and educating ourselves on how to deal with the annual onslaught of the normal, garden variety flu.

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I heard a segment on NPR the other day that talked about the merits of vaccinating more kids: Shots for Kids May Be Best Flu Defense. Researchers have found that preschool aged kids, three and four years olds in particular, are the first to become infected and are likely to play an important role in spreading the flu. Their research is reported here: Surveillance Data Suggest That Preschoolers Drive Flu Epidemics. They make a pretty persuasive case for immunizing more young kids. Even if this research does not cause a change in policy (current policy only recommends vaccinating for younger babies), it would appear to make sense for individual kids to be immunized.

While this research may not be well established yet, and may not be a sound basis for parental action, there are plenty of things parents can do to help limit the spread of the flu virus.

The most important thing you can do is to monitor your kids and keep them home if you think they might have flu. If they are carrying the flu virus when they go to school, they will spread that virus. Kids' hygiene is not perfect! No matter how many times you tell them to wash their hands, cover their mouths when coughing, or keep their fingers out off their face and out of their mouth and nose, they will not comply. They will spread germs. Eventually we hope to train them well and instill good habits. Meanwhile, in school, they share their germs liberally So if they show symptoms, err on the side of caution.

If you child is running a fever accompanied by chills, cough, sore throat, headache, or muscle aches, they should not go to school. Keep them home until 24 hours after the fever has subsided.