Tag Archives: Flu

90 Million Children Get the Flu Each Year

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Around the world, approximately 90 million children get influenza each year. Of these cases, around 1 million are hospitalized.

Prior to World Pneumonia Day (Sat 12 Nov) a study published Online First in The Lancet for the first time provides global estimates of seasonal influenza in children below the age of five years and the resultant burden of influenza-related pneumonia. According to the study, the researchers estimate that globally approximately 90 million children contract seasonal flu each year, resulting in around 1 million hospital admissions and almost 111,500 deaths due to influenza-related pneumonia, with 99% of these deaths occurring in developing countries.

Because researchers cannot fully explain the pediatric pneumonia burden based on recent estimates of global pneumonia incidence and mortality linked to Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenza type b, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), they needed to investigate the role of other pathogens, such as the influenza virus, which is linked to a large but unknown number of hospital admissions in young children… continue reading

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Children Given Unnecessary Antibiotics

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In the US, children are overprescribed antibiotics for conditions such as the flu and asthma. It has been found that around 10 million unnecessary antibiotics are prescribed each year.

(Reuters Health) – Pediatricians write more than 10 million unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions — for conditions like the flu and asthma — every year, suggests a new study.

Those ailments, and others not caused by bacteria, don’t respond to the drugs. But misuse of antibiotics contributes to drug resistance — so those same medications might not work in the future when they’re really needed.

“Antibiotics are wonderful. There are times you really need them, the question is just being judicious about when we use them,” said Betsy Foxman, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor who… continue reading

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