Influenza - Recommendations for Prevention

This is an official CDC Health Advisory

Distributed via Health Alert Network
December 10, 2003, 23 :00 EST (11:00 PM EST)
CDCHAN-00169-03-12-10-ADV-N

CDC Recommendations for Influenza Prevention
On December 11, 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will release an update on influenza activity in the United States for the 2003-04 season in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Because of concerns about influenza vaccine shortages, the update will include new recommendations, modified from those appearing in an earlier HAN Update released November 21, 2003. Current recommendations include:

Vaccination

• Emphasis should be placed on targeting trivalent inactivated vaccine to persons at high risk for complications from influenza: healthy children aged 6–23 months, adults aged >65 years, pregnant women in their second or third trimester during influenza season, and persons aged >2 years with underlying chronic conditions.
• Persons at high risk should be encouraged to search locally for vaccine if their usual health-care provider no longer has vaccine available.
• All children at high risk, including those aged 6–23 months, who report for vaccination should be vaccinated with a first or second dose, depending on vaccination status. Doses should not be held in reserve to ensure that two doses will be available.
• Next priority should be given to vaccinating those persons at greatest risk for transmission of disease to persons at high risk, including household contacts and health-care workers.
• Healthy persons aged 5–49 years should be encouraged to be vaccinated with intranasally administered live, attenuated influenza vaccine.
• Decisions about vaccinating healthy persons, including adults aged 50–64 years, with inactivated influenza vaccine should be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on local disease activity, vaccine coverage, feasibility, and supply.
• Health departments should work with their health-care providers to reallocate influenza vaccine to health-care providers in need when possible.

Hygiene

• Good respiratory hygiene should be encouraged, including cleaning of hands, and staying at home when symptomatic with fever and respiratory illness.

Medication

• Antiviral medications with specific activity against influenza A viruses should be considered either for treatment or chemoprophylaxis for influenza A, especially in persons at high risk for complications from influenza.

For further information on influenza, see http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

Revised CDC Recommendations for Influenza Prevention 
(Issued as Health Alert Network (HAN) message on 
December 10, 2003, 23 :00 EST)
On December 11, 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an update on influenza activity in the United States for the 2003-04 season in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Because of concerns about influenza vaccine shortages, the update includes new recommendations, modified from those appearing in an earlier HAN update released November 21, 2003, www.cdc.gov/flu/han1210.htm.