scribed most of the children antibiotics for ear, sinus, or upper respiratory in- fections. Previous studies show at least 50 percent of antibiotics prescribed in doctors’ offices for children are for respi- ratory infections, most of which do not require antibiotics. CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, says when physicians prescribe antibiotics incorrectly, they put children at risk of antibiotic-resistant infections. “Improved antibiotic prescribing is critical to protect the health of our na- tion’s children,” Dr. Frieden said. C. difficile remains at an all-time high,
causing at least 250,000 infections in hospitalized patients and 14,000 deaths every year among children and adults, according to CDC. Preliminary CDC data show an estimated 17,000 children aged 1 to 17 years get C. difficile infections every year. Texas Medical Association policy rec- ommends the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and medical schools inform medical students and residents about antimicrobials and the impact of antimicrobial resistance on public health and that TMA collabo- rate with DSHS to promote the use of evidence-based programs such as CDC’s Get Smart program. For more information about the Get
Smart program and improving antibiotic prescribing practices in doctors’ offices, visit
www.cdc.gov/getsmart.
and pandemic influenza experience no symptoms, suggesting many people could be spreading the flu without real- izing it. According to the study, the flu in- fected about one in five people during recent outbreaks, 23 percent of those infected showed symptoms, and only 17 percent were ill enough to visit a physi- cian. The authors of the study also used data collected from five consecutive co- horts of households in England during six flu seasons between 2006 and 2011. Participants of the study provided blood samples before and after each flu season, and researchers contacted all households every week to ask if the par- ticipants experienced any flulike symp- toms, including a sore throat, a cough, or a cold. Researchers asked participants who displayed such symptoms to keep daily symptom diaries during the illness and to submit a nasal swab on the sec- ond day of the illness.
The study further shows the flu in- fected about 18 percent of the unvac- cinated community each winter season and during the 2009 flu pandemic, but 77 percent of those infected showed no symptoms. Findings show the rate of influenza
across all winter seasons was around 22 times higher than rates of disease re- corded by the Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Center, which collects data from more than 100 general practitioners through- out England and Wales. To read the study, visit http://bit .ly/1iL2DPY. Texas Medical Association policy sup- ports universal influenza vaccination, es- pecially of health care professionals. n
Kara Nuzback is a reporter for Texas Medicine. You can reach her by telephone at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1393, or (512) 370-1393; by fax at (512) 370-1629; or by email at
kara.nuzback@
texmed.org.
Doctors: Don’t unknowingly spread flu
A new study gives physicians and pa- tients one more reason to get a flu vac- cination: You could be infected and not even know it. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine pub- lished the study, “Comparative Commu- nity Burden and Severity of Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza: Results of the Flu Watch Cohort Study,” in its March 17 issue. The British study shows three- quarters of those infected with seasonal
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