There has been a “worrisome spike” in secondary bacterial infections among Americans with swine flu, federal health officials said, urging more people at risk to get the underused Pneumovax vaccine that prevents some of those infections.
Bacterial infections are a common and sometimes deadly flu complication for the elderly, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of immunization and respiratory disease for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But in this pandemic, they are becoming more common among children and younger adults.
Experts believe bacteria living in the nose and throat get into lung tissue that has been inflamed by fighting the flu virus and cause pneumonia. They may then reach the blood or brain, causing even more dangerous infections. The most common sign is a sudden relapse in a flu patient who had been recovering.
The Pneumovax vaccine, which protects against 23 strains of the most common pneumonia bacteria, is routinely given to adults over 65. But health officials are urging adults with asthma, emphysema, a smoking habit, diabetes, or lung, heart, kidney or liver disease to also get it now.
What health officials probably won’t tell you, however, is that the pneumonia vaccine does not work; it does not reduce your risk of contracting the disease! It is also not without side effects, and 12 infants died during a pneumonia vaccine trial in 2008.