A seasonal vaccine is distributed routinely every year. 

• While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine protects against the three viruses that research suggests will be most common.
• The 2010-2011 flu vaccine will protect against an influenza A H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus and the 2009 H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last season.
• Everyone 6 months of age and older should get vaccinated against the flu as soon as the 2010-2011 season vaccine is available.
• People at high risk of serious flu complications include young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease and people 65 years and older.
• Vaccination of high risk persons is especially important to decrease their risk of severe flu illness.
• Vaccination also is important for health care workers, and other people who live with or care for high risk people to keep from spreading flu to high risk people.
• Children younger than 6 months are at high risk of serious flu illness, but are too young to be vaccinated. People who care for them should be vaccinated instead.

Key Facts about Seasonal Flu Vaccine (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

• For decades, vaccines have been produced in chicken eggs. This process is time-consuming and for some flu seasons has resulted in flu vaccine shortages early in the flu season.  Cell-based vaccine production takes less time, and has the added benefit of allowing persons who are allergic to eggs to receive the vaccine.  Cell-based vaccine is not expected to become available until 2011.  More information about cell-based vaccine productions.

• When a critical portion of a community is immunized against a contagious disease, most members of the community are protected against that disease because there is little opportunity for an outbreak. Even those who are not eligible for certain vaccines get some protection because the spread of contagious disease is contained. This is known as “community immunity.”

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Fluzone High-Dose Vaccine

Fluzone High-Dose vaccine is aflu shot, made up of the 3 flu strains most likely to cause illness for a particular flu season. Fluzone High-Dose vaccines contain 4 times the amount of antigen (the part of the vaccine that prompts the body to make antibody) contained in regular flu shots. The additional antigen is intended to create a stronger immune response (more antibody) in the person getting the vaccine.

Human immune defenses become weaker with age, which places older people at greater risk of severe illness from influenza. Also, ageing decreases the body’s ability to have a good immune response after getting influenza vaccine. A higher dose of antigen in the vaccine is supposed to give older people a better immune response and therefore better protection against flu.

Fluzone High-Dose is approved for use in people 65 years of age and older. As with all flu vaccines, Fluzone High-Dose is not recommended for people with a severe allergy to chicken eggs, or people who have had a severe reaction to a flu vaccine in the past.

Questions & Answers: Fluzone High–Dose Seasonal Influenza Vaccine
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Light to moderate consumption of red wine may lead to improved sexual function in women, according to a study in the October issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine. Women who drank one or two glasses of red wine a day scored higher on a questionnaire concerning sexual health and enjoyment, according to the study’s authors, members of the departments of Urology and Public Health at the University of Florence.

The team wanted to see if red wine consumption, as described by the Mediterranean diet, has an impact on women’s sexual function.  Past studies have found that adherence to the diet improves cardiovascular health, possibly due to a glass or two of red wine per day.  Cardiovascular health has long been linked to sexual health. 

The scientists selected nearly 800 women for the study, ages 18 to 50, who visited the Santa Maria Annunziata Hospital, part of the University of Florence.  Women who drank more than two glasses per day, smokers, and those with sexual disorders were excluded.  

The women completed a questionnaire, the Female Sexual Function Index, which is used by doctors to assess women and sexual health.  It includes 19 questions and has a total score range between 2 and 36, with higher scores indicating better sexual health.  

Overall, women who drank two glasses a day scored an average of 27.3 points, compared with 25.9 for those who drank one glass and 24.4 for nondrinkers.  Even more surprising was the fact that the two-glass-a-day drinkers were, on average, older than the other two groups, age tends to be associated with a declining sex drive.

Heavy alcohol consumption is a cancer risk but wine may help deter the cancer.  A recent study by researchers in Montreal has discovered a strong link between heavy alcohol consumption and six types of cancer in men.  But the researchers also found that moderate wine consumption lowered the risk of several other types of cancers.

The research was conducted by Andrea Benedetti of McGill University in Montreal, Marie-Elise Parent of the University of Quebec, and Jack Siemiatycki of the Universite de Montreal.  They gathered and analyzed data from a large study done in Montreal in the early 1980s.  There were 3,571 participants in that study, men aged 35 to 70, who provided detailed information on their alcohol consumption as well as information on their smoking habits, diet and socioeconomic status.  About 14 percent of the men were nondrinkers, about half drank weekly, and 36 percent consumed alcohol daily.

The researchers classified the men in the study by how many drinks they consumed daily multiplied by how many years they drank.  A man who drank four drinks a day for 25 years, for example, accumulated 100 “drink-years.”  They found that regular heavy consumption of alcohol (classified as 180 drink-years or more) increased the risk of esophageal and liver cancer by more than sevenfold.  The risk of colon, stomach and prostate cancer was about 80 percent higher among heavy drinkers, while lung cancer risk rose by almost 60 percent, compared with non-drinkers.  Heavy drinking posed no apparent excess risk for pancreatic cancer, rectal cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“For the most part we showed that light drinkers were less affected or not affected at all,” said Benedetti.  “It is people who drink every day or multiple times a day who are at risk.”

In a secondary analysis that separated alcohol beverages by type, the results were less alarming for moderate wine drinkers.  Those who drank between one and six glasses of wine per week showed an increased risk of rectal cancer and melanoma (7 percent and 9 percent, respectively), but for most of the other cancers, moderate wine drinkers showed a lower risk of the diseases, averaging 10 percent to 20 percent less, compared with nondrinkers.  The moderate wine drinkers enjoyed a 41 percent lower risk of pancreatic cancers and a 35 percent lower risk for both forms of lymphoma.

“When we looked at alcohol-specific estimates, increased risks seemed to be driven by beer and/or spirits consumption,” said Benedetti.

Dress to be seen

Fall is a good time for safety awareness, in and around the neighborhoods, especially during Halloween.  Keep in mind:

• when selecting a costume to not impede your child’s vision and not impact their balance and coordination
• utilize clothing with reflective features like sneakers,, wristbands or jackets
• make sure batteries in the flash lights are new and your child is aware of traffic dangers.  Glow sticks are a good temporary or supplemental source of illumination

Fall Attire

Night time activities increase as the hours of daylight decrease.  Keeping safe this season helps by dressing appropriately.  Wear bright, light, reflective clothing.  If jogging or walking on roads, always face traffic and do not wear headphones.  Watch for evasive actions from oncoming vehicles as drivers may be distracted.

Home Tips

At the beginning of the fall season, ensure that you have a proper inspection and cleaning performed on your central heating unit and fireplace.  Inspections can unveil potential issues such as blocked pipes or carbon monoxide poisoning and reduce the risk of having a chimney fire.  Also, be sure to inspect your chimney regularly for cracks and any ]blockages that could pose a fire safety tip.  If you use space heaters, ensure they are UL Listed, in good condition and a safe distance away from drapery, furniture or other combustibles.  Always ensure that they are turned off before bedtime or leaving the home.

In addition to washing your hands, it is recommended to wash your forearms.  At least when you arrive at home at the end of the day, wash your hands and your forearms up to your elbows.  This will remove any germs and prevent illness.