Universal influenza vaccination in the elderly: another piece in the jigsaw
| Autor: | M Woodhead, Z Borrill |
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| Rok vydání: | 2007 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | European Respiratory Journal. 30:407-408 |
| ISSN: | 1399-3003 0903-1936 |
| DOI: | 10.1183/09031936.00081907 |
| Popis: | It is widely accepted that influenza causes significant mortality and morbidity in the elderly population during winter epidemics. Annual vaccination is recommended in the majority of western countries for all adults aged >65 yrs. Vaccination is aimed not at prevention of the spread of influenza, most of which occurs in children and younger adults, but at reduction of the complications among those who are most vulnerable, with death being the most significant, potentially preventable, complication. Each year, considerable resources are devoted to the creation of a vaccine against the influenza strains expected to be most prevalent, and to its timely administration. Despite the widespread endorsement of influenza vaccination for the elderly, its overall effectiveness continues to be debated. Measuring the number of excess deaths attributable to influenza is difficult. Influenza-like illness (ILI) caused by other viruses is common and rarely distinguishable from influenza, due to a lack of virological conformation. Furthermore, influenza contributes to deaths from many causes which may not be recorded as such, the so called “hidden deaths”. In developed countries, mortality is highest during the winter months, coinciding temporally with the existence of influenza epidemics. … |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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