Chicken Little Wonders ....
A report from the CDC has many bloggers and reporters pushing the line that children with disabilities are at higher risk of death/hospitalization due to the H1N1 flu. The next logical (?) advice is that they should be rushed to the front of the line for the vaccine.
At least 36 children died from swine flu in the United States as of Aug. 8, most of whom had an underlying illness or developmental disability, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Now, doctors are warning that extra attention must be given to children with special needs who present with flu-like symptoms.
Of the 36 children ages 2 months to 17 years who have died, two-thirds had a chronic illness or developmental disability such as cerebral palsy, developmental delay, muscular dystrophy, respiratory troubles or cardiac problems.
“For people who do have an underlying condition, it’s important to be seen promptly if you get a fever. That could make the difference between being severely ill and recovering well,” said Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC. “Treatment in the first 48 hours can make a big difference in hastening your recovery.”
Children with developmental disabilities will be “at the front of the line for flu vaccination when it becomes available,” Frieden says, which could be as early as the middle of October. — The Disability Scoop Blog ( a worthwhile blog )
I like the Disability Scoop Blog as a reference and read it frequently …. but this seemed a bit extreme. So I checked online and sure enough CNN agreed.
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Children with high-risk medical conditions or disabilities should be among the first to be vaccinated against H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised Thursday. – source
Now, the high risk medical conditions kind of made sense … but could the swine flu be targeting kids with disabilities too? I wondered … so I went and found the report from the CDC and here’s what I learned:
- 67% of the children that died from the H1N1 had “high risk medical conditions”
- The percentage of children who died in the <5 years and <2 years age brackets were actually less than in previous years
- 92% of the children that died did have neurodevelopmental conditions (developmental delays or cerebral palsy) — oh, oh I thought it’s true
- This 92% was consistent with what had been found in past influenza seasons — whew, good! Wait a minute though, does that mean kids with disabilities are at a higher risk EVERY year?
- The findings indicate that most of the children with neurodevelopmental conditions who died had MULTIPLE neurodevelopmental diagnosis AND/or comorbid pulmonary conditions
So in short yes, a large percentage of the children that died did have developmental delays HOWEVER, they didn’t have these delays alone but rather in combination with significant pulmonary conditions (this means lungs and breathing problems). As a matter of fact not ONE had only a neurological or developmental delay by itself. So it’s fair to say that it’s not the neurological disorders or developmental delays alone that are the culprits as much as it is the chronic LUNG and BREATHING problems.
Which makes sense as a higher risk factor when you’re talking about a flu that attacks the respiratory system.
Finally and perhaps most of all you’re also talking about results pulled from a total pool of only 36 children total. Which is not even close to a large enough sample size to be drawing any conclusions or recommendations from, especially not on a nationwide basis.
Course that doesn’t make as scary a headline story, does it?
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