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Influenza Complications
Influenza-Related Complications Can Affect Everyone
Influenza is a serious infectious disease that can cause severe illness in people of all ages and backgrounds. An
individual’s response to influenza is difficult to predict. Some people will experience mild symptoms, while in
others the virus will take hold and cause serious infection. It is not possible to predict who will be affected; even
healthy children and young adults can get very sick from the flu and spread it to others. Some healthy people die
from it. Influenza complications that can affect anyone include:
• Pneumonia
• Bronchitis
• Sinus infections
• Ear infections
• Worsening of chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease
Here are some key facts about how influenza affects different populations:
•
Children and infants:
o Under 5 years old: Each year, 20,000 children younger than five are hospitalized with influenza
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complications.
o Under 2 years old: Influenza complications are most common in this young population. Infants and
toddlers are hospitalized due to influenza at rates similar to those 65 and older – more than any other
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age group.
o Younger than 6 months: Young infants have the highest rates and risk of complications of all
children. Because vaccination is not approved for children younger than 6 months, the best way to
protect them is to vaccinate all household members and caregivers.
•
Adults 65 years of age and older: Adults age 65 and older typically account for 90 percent of flu-related
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deaths and 60 percent of flu-related hospitalizations due to weakened immune systems, and a reduced
ability to respond to the standard influenza vaccine. People age 65 and older may wish to ask their healthcare
provider about a new high-dose vaccine that contains four times the amount of antigen to induce a higher
immune response.
•
Pregnant women: Influenza is more likely to cause severe illness in pregnant women than in women who are
not pregnant. Pregnant women with the flu are at increased risk of hospitalization and adverse pregnancy
outcomes, including premature labor and delivery. Vaccination protects the mother from influenza and may
also protect the baby before and after birth. However, during the 2010-11 influenza season, only 49 percent of
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pregnant women were immunized against influenza.
•
Asthma: Influenza can cause inflammation in the lungs and airways, provoking an asthma attack and
worsening asthma symptoms in those who have this respiratory illness. People with asthma are also more
likely to develop pneumonia and are at increased risk of other acute respiratory diseases.
•
Diabetes: Patients with diabetes are at high risk of severe influenza and its complications. The virus may
interfere with glucose management, putting people with diabetes, especially people with type 1 diabetes, at
an increased risk of diabetic coma.
•
Heart disease: Influenza can trigger a heart attack in patients with heart disease and up to half of unexpected
influenza deaths are due to heart disease. Influenza vaccination can reduce the risk of heart attacks and offer
cardio-protective benefits in cardiac patients.
•
Compromised immune system: Cancer patients and people with HIV/AIDS are among those with
compromised immune systems who are at a greater risk of developing serious flu-related complications, such
as pneumonia, which can result in hospitalization and death.
•
Healthcare workers: Healthcare workers infected with influenza can transmit the virus to patients in their
care, leading to serious morbidity and mortality. Hospital-acquired flu outbreaks can have a death rate of 16
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percent with an average additional cost of $7,500 per case. The CDC and most major medical groups
recommend that all healthcare workers be vaccinated against influenza. See the “Models for Success” fact
sheet for more information on successful healthcare worker immunization programs.
References
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children, the Flu, and the Flu Vaccine. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/children.htm. Updated
August 31, 2010. Accessed September 28, 2010.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated CDC Estimates of 2009 H1N1 Influenza Cases, Hospitalizations and Deaths in the
United States, April 2009 – April 10, 2010. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/estimates_2009_h1n1.htm#Hospitalization . Updated May 14, 2010.
Accessed September 28, 2010.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Pregnant Women --- United States, 2010--11 Influenza
Season. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6032a2.htm?s_cid=mm6032a2_w. Updated August 19, 2011.
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Salgado C. et al. Influenza in the acute hospital setting. Lancet Infectious Diseases.2002:145-155:147.
September 2011