Experts advise influenza vaccination for travellers, high-risk groups

*People most at risk for severe seasonal influenza are:

-pregnant women

-children aged below 5 years

-people aged above 65 years

-people with chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS, asthma, heart and lung diseases, and diabetes

-people at increased risk of exposure to influenza, including healthcare workers.

Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/how-can-i-avoid-getting-the-flu

Professor Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail, Technical Committee Chairman of the Immunise4Life programme, said the influenza season started early in the northern hemisphere and cases had been increasing since October 2022. [https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiZTkyODcyOTEtZjA5YS00ZmI0LWFkZGUtODIxNGI5OTE3YjM0IiwidCI6ImY2MTBjMGI3LWJkMjQtNGIzOS04MTBiLTNkYzI4MGFmYjU5MCIsImMiOjh9] Therefore, he advised caution for those who planned to visit the northern hemisphere since the rise in influenza cases is expected to continue in most destinations that are popular with Malaysians.

Datuk Dr Christopher Lee, consultant infectious diseases physician, and a member of the Malaysian Influenza Working Group under the Malaysian Society of Infectious Diseases & Chemotherapy, said the annual influenza vaccination is recommended for travellers and high-risk groups. They need to allow 2 weeks after the vaccination for their body to reach the desired level of immunity before travelling. 

Influenza vaccination may prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death, since it is associated with 34 percent lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, and 18 percent reduced risk of death in patients with heart failure. [https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/flu/index.html, JAMA Netw Open 2022;5(4):e228873, Circulation 2019;139(5):575–586] In people with type 2 diabetes, influenza vaccination has been associated with a reduced hospitalization risk due to heart failure by 22 percent, stroke by 30 percent, heart attack by 19 percent, and pneumonia by 15 percent. [CMAJ 2016;188(14):E342–E351]

Lee noted that currently available influenza vaccines have been updated to include virus subtypes that are circulating in the northern hemisphere so they will help reduce the risk of contracting influenza. Influenza vaccination is not only recommended for travellers but also for everyone especially high-risk groups as the importation of influenza cases through air travel can result in community spread.

As of 10 December 2022 (week 49), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated 15 million Americans had been infected, 150000 hospitalized, and 9300 died of influenza-related causes in the current influenza season. [https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm] In November 2022, the French Health Authority declared an influenza epidemic in three areas in France while identifying another five including, Paris and its surrounding areas, to be in a pre-epidemic phase. [https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20221124-french-health-system-under-strain-as-flu-adds-to-bronchiolitis-and-covid-woes] In its first winter update in November 2022, the National Health Service (NHS) of England reported an average of 344 influenza patients in hospital per day in a single week—10 times more than the number seen at the beginning of December 2021. [https://www.england.nhs.uk/2022/11/hundreds-of-beds-taken-up-by-flu-patients-every-day-ahead-of-winter/]

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