POPULATION & No. 470 SOCIETIES
A spectacular decline in influenza mortality: the role of vaccination Every autumn sees the start of the annual flu vaccination campaign, with particular focus on older adults, high-risk individuals or those in regular contact with persons at risk. But do we know how many people die of influenza eac...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.397.335 http://www.ined.fr/fichier/t_publication/1513/publi_pdf2_pesa470.pdf |
| Summary: | A spectacular decline in influenza mortality: the role of vaccination Every autumn sees the start of the annual flu vaccination campaign, with particular focus on older adults, high-risk individuals or those in regular contact with persons at risk. But do we know how many people die of influenza each year? And does vaccination save lives? France Meslé looks into these questions, examining influenza mortality trends in France and in industrialized countries over recent decades. Over the last five or six years, influenza has once again become the centre of attention. The recurrent fears of an (A)H5N1 avian influenza epidemic since 2004, followed by the spread of (A)H1NI swine flu in 2009-2010, have mobilized public health institutions worldwide, prompting an unprecedented array of preventive measures. The human transmission of avian flu remained very limited, however, and H1N1 swine flu proved to be relatively benign. In France, no deaths from avian flu have been recorded, and the 2009-2010 H1NI swine flu epidemic had taken only 312 lives by 13 April 2010 [1]. This bears no comparison with the devastating death toll of Spanish flu in 1918-1919 (200,000 to 400,000 deaths in France according to some estimates) or even the excess mortality due to Asian flu in 1957-1958 (more than 20,000 deaths) and to Hong Kong flu in 1968-1969 (more than 30,000 deaths). Until the discovery and use of a polyvalent vaccine, influenza and its complications were one of the main causes of death in the winter months. The decline in flu deaths is a major success story of preventive medicine. Let’s take a closer look at its history. A disease known since Antiquity Influenza is a viral disease whose most common symptoms are a high fever, muscle pain, nasal congestion * Institut national d’études démographiques France Meslé * |
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