Flu shot no shield for anthrax

By SUSAN ASCHOFF

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 23, 2001

In the same breath as some medical experts and TV talking heads are uttering "anthrax," they say, "Get a flu shot."

What gives?

For example, in a recent CNN panel discussion about people contracting the potentially fatal disease after tainted letters were mailed to news organizations in South Florida and New York City, the panelists speculated on whether bioterrorism was being waged on Americans through the mails. "What can we do?" they were asked.

Said one matter-of-factly: "Of course, get your flu shot."

Does a flu shot protect against anthrax?

No.

"Most of the people talking on the news shows about anthrax are infectious disease experts. They're saying, be aware that the flu kills many more people than anthrax," says Eduardo Gonzalez, a family physician and associate professor at the University of South Florida Department of Family Medicine.

These experts know it's flu season, and a flu shot works, says Gonzalez.

About 20,000 people die every year from flu's complications. An additional 40,000 die from pneumonia, which can be prevented or lessened in severity with a pneumococcal vaccination. "If you're sick, if you do catch the flu, it's not the flu that kills you. It opens the door to all sorts of other infections," says Gonzalez.

Compared to the 20,000 annual deaths caused by flu, the Oct. 5 death of Robert Stevens of Lantana was the first reported case of inhaled anthrax in the United States in 25 years.

Some early symptoms of anthrax infection are the same as for the flu: fever, achy muscles and, in some cases, a cough.

"The best thing this flu season really is to get the flu vaccine, so you can at least rule that possibility out," says Dr. Mohammed Akhter, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

The point is to keep your body's defenses strong.

And yourself, though stressed by events, healthy.

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