Abstract
Influence often have severe consequences in the short and long term, and could cause fatal outcomes in some of the sick people. We evaluated the impact of flu vaccines on the health of children in the months following the epidemics, comparing these data with those of children who, on the other hand, caught the flu. The present study was performed between 2014/15 and 2018/19 (5 seasons), focusing on children aged between 6 months and 14 years old, and it compared two group of children, sorted according to whether they received the flu vaccine or contracted flu. We demonstrate, in a statistically significant way, that children who get vaccinated with the seasonal flu vaccine catch fewer diseases in the following months, compared to those who catch the flu, especially with respect to the feared acute otitis media and wheezing. Moreover, vaccinated children receive fewer antibiotic therapies and, consequently, they attend the office of the family pediatrician less. We conclude that flu vaccine protects any child, even if this child is healthy, and does not suffer from any preexisting pathology, during the months after vaccination.
Highlights
Influence or flu is an infectious disease affecting the upper and lower respiratory tract, caused by viruses belonging to the Orthomyxoviridae family, divided into three types: A, B and C
The flu virus is transmitted through air, typically by means of inhaling droplets resulting from the coughing or sneezing of infected people. It can be transmitted through contacts between hands which were previously contaminated with respiratory secretions, and a careful hand hygiene is essential to limit the spread of the disease [3]
Apart from the short-term complications which are strictly connected to the infection, there is a broader compromise in the general state of health of the child which is not detectable, but does not elude the family pediatrician’ attention: the children that caught influenza show a particular sensitivity to sicknesses in the following months [15]
Summary
Influence or flu is an infectious disease affecting the upper and lower respiratory tract, caused by viruses belonging to the Orthomyxoviridae family, divided into three types: A, B and C. Viruses are transmitted through air, by means of saliva drops emitted with coughing and sneezing, and commonly cause fever, cough, sore throat, headache and muscle pain. The flu virus is transmitted through air, typically by means of inhaling droplets resulting from the coughing or sneezing of infected people. It can be transmitted through contacts between hands which were previously contaminated with respiratory secretions, and a careful hand hygiene is essential to limit the spread of the disease [3]. It is possible to get infected through touching infected surfaces or objects and introducing the virus into the body through touching our own mouth or nose [4, 5]
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