Better the flu you know?

June 25, 2009 9:49 AM

At what point should I consider (responsibly) getting myself inoculated with the flu?

The H1N1 flu seems to be spreading pretty quickly in my community. It's flu season here (southern hemisphere), and at least 3 separate groups of my friends appear to be down with the H1N1 flu.

I had a standard seasonal flu last year, and it sucks, but it seems like it'd suck less if I was actually able to plan it?

I've read that prior to immunization, children used to get sent to say, 'Measles parties' so they'd catch it at the same time, parents could pool resources and they'd then be immune as adults. How crazy is this as a tactic against a mild pandemic to which there's little immunity and no vaccine yet?

For myself,
if it was a choice between getting it soon or randomly in a couple of months, sooner would be preferable because:
1. I know it's going to be slow at work for the next month, but will probably ramp up after that. Taking time off sooner rather than later would be preferable.
2. If I visited a friend on a Thurs/Fri, I could have a quite weekend in (which fits plans anyway), and could avoid infecting others before symptoms show, if I caught it.
3. It's pretty low-aggression at the moment (what's the chances it mutates to a more worrying strain?)

This is not just a 'should I or not?', but a - under WHAT circumstances would it be logical, if any?

I'm thinking it would have to spread more widely than it currently has (I may have a skewed view from 3 different infection sources close to me) - at what point would you consider it reasonable?

Also, I'm thinking if there was news of a more virulent but immunologically similar strain, that might be a point at which 'better the flu you know' might be relevant?

And thirdly, a vaccine would have to be still many months away - otherwise I'd get a vaccine. It's looking like 4-6 months at the moment?

(Anonymous as this seems like a hot-button issue, and really, I'm NOT trying to do a stupid thing - but finding out whether it is?)

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (10 comments total)

If it mutates into a more worrying strain, then your inoculation will not protect you from that strain.
posted by onshi at 9:58 AM on June 25

It doesn't make sense for flu because flu constantly changes.

It's true that they used to do that for measles, especially for rubella. But that's because the medical consequences of getting rubella as an adult (especially if you were a pregnant woman) could be so terrible, and because there was only one rubella, which was antigenically stable, so you could only get it once in your lifetime. It was considered a normal childhood disease, and it was thought to be better to get it out of the way when you were young.

As to flu, though, I can't really conceive of any reason a normal person would actively try to seek it out and get it. And even if you get this year's flu, no matter how, it won't protect you against next year's flu, or the one after that. The antigens keep changing.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:02 AM on June 25

The H1N1 flu seems to be spreading pretty quickly in my community. It's flu season here (southern hemisphere), and at least 3 separate groups of my friends appear to be down with the H1N1 flu.

This seems alarmist and I'm not sure if you are intending to be. Do these people appear to have H1N1? Or has it been confirmed by them or a physician?

If you are aware that there isn't a vaccine for H1N1 available, what are you asking? Are you asking if you should try to infect yourself now as a convenience to your schedule? Influenza and many other viruses are constantly changing and exposing yourself to it won't necessarily protect you from catching a virus. Contact a local medical center. You might benefit from a talk with a health professional who could better answer your questions and can clarify any misunderstandings of viral illnesses that you may have.
posted by handabear at 10:29 AM on June 25

it seems like it'd suck less if I was actually able to plan it

Too bad, you can't.

How crazy is this as a tactic against a mild pandemic to which there's little immunity and no vaccine yet?

Batshitinsane crazy.

I'm NOT trying to do a stupid thing - but finding out whether it is?

It's good that you asked here first then. You can also ask your physician questions like this.
posted by grouse at 10:48 AM on June 25

Don't try and catch the flu. If you are concerned about it, stay home and stay away from people whom you suspect have it.

Even if you don't get it [badly], you could pass it to someone elderly, pregnant, with a chronic disease like heart or lung disease or diabetes or to a small child. These groups usually have a harder time fighting off infection and are more prone to get seriously ill from the flu.

By the way, people don't typically die from flu. They die from complications of it, including dehydration and pneumonia. Flu is really serious for some people. So anything you can do to avoid getting it and spreading it will be much appreciated by your immunocompromised neighbors.
posted by FergieBelle at 11:38 AM on June 25

1- The more people who get the flu, the more easily it spreads. Even if you are very careful, just infecting one other person can have tremendous effects if that person isn't careful.

2- This flu, unlike the "regular" ones, has the ability to have the opposite of the normal effects from the regular one. The kind that kills the healthiest along with the weakest. You could be setting yourself up for one heck of a hospital stay if not long term damage. Especially if you've never had a flu anything like this one (as many haven't), your immune system goes into hyperdrive and takes you down.

3- The flu virus mutates so quickly that any built in immunity doesn't go too far. That's why people keep getting it. You could easily suffer needlessly from H1N1, only to get infected next month with H1N1.ver1.1.

4- The flu sucks. I'd much rather take my chances than purposely get it.

5- Having immunity to something isn't a guarantee that you won't get sick at all. If you are exposed to something you have immunity to, you still might get sick. It wouldn't necessarily be a full-blown case, but you will still feel like shit for a few days.
posted by gjc at 12:09 PM on June 25

Health officials in New Zealand have explicitly warned people NOT to do this, for the reasons stated by gjc above:

New Zealand's deputy director of public health Dr Fran McGrath said the tactic went completely against the Health Ministry's efforts to contain the virus.

"The reason we're doing [containment] is because this is a brand new virus to which people don't have immunity so there will be lots of people who get it," she said.

She said that if people deliberately made themselves ill this would have a huge impact on already-stretched health services. "...swine flu parties are definitely not part of our public health advice."

There was also no guarantee that getting sick now would lead to immunity in the future.

"We don't know what the nature of the mutation would be. If there were to be a second wave then it would be because of a mutation in the virus and you can't tell how big that mutation might be and therefore how useful any immunity from an earlier version would be."

"It may give you some [immunity] but we can't be sure about that."

The concept appears to have stemmed from chickenpox parties where parents would deliberately infect their children in the knowledge the virus was less serious in children than adults.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in United States, people hope to become affected from the mild form of the virus, in the hope of having natural immunity to a more virulent form that might circulate later.

Flu specialist Anne Moscona told the New York Times: "I can't believe people are really thinking of doing it. I understand the thinking, but I just fear we don't know enough about how this virus would react in every individual.

"This is like the Middle Ages, when people deliberately infected themselves with smallpox. It's vigilante vaccination you know, taking immunity into your own hands."

source
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:26 PM on June 25

Your best defense against the flu -- any type -- is regular hand washing. Use soap and water and really scrub all your fingers. Hand sanitizer can be an easy (but somewhat less effective) substitute if you have a lot of human contact, e.g. handling money or shaking hands.

If you wash your hands multiple times a day, sneeze or cough into your elbow, and avoid rubbing your eyes or nostrils, you will reduce the chances that you or anyone you contact will get the flu.

Also, stay generally healthy. Sleep well, eat right, and get plenty of exercise. If you do get the flu, your symptoms will probably be less severe.

As it is flu season for you, I would also consider your standard flu vaccine. Usually you can get it at pharmacies, public health facilities, and any doctor's office. It will protect you against the current set of strains that are known to be about, with the exception of this variety of H1N1.
posted by dhartung at 2:15 PM on June 25 [2 favorites has favorites]

Anonymous, as a long-time pandemic worrywart, the same thought has crossed my mind too. But as other people in this thread have mentioned, there is no guarantee that this current flu strain will provide any immunity at all for "the big one", whenever that one may be. I'd say you're better off using your time to work on pandemic preparedness initiatives within your own home or own community -- whether that means socking away some extra canned food and pasta and rice, or getting (re-)certified in first aid, or whatever you think is appropriate for your situation.

And something else to consider: here's an article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal from a few days ago: "Exposure to swine flu now may have silver lining later". Sounds like your question, right? But notice the fine print:

"When a new H1N1 vaccine becomes available, [Dr. John Middaugh, director of community health for the Southern Nevada Health District] said ideally it would be good to know who already has immunity.

That would be particularly useful if the vaccine was in short supply, he said."

In other words, if you get the first wave of the virus that's going around now, you may be considered to be immune by your health district, even though you probably won't be, and this might limit your access to the scarce vaccine. Yikes!
posted by Asparagirl at 4:31 PM on June 25

I don't think it will be long until the vaccine becomes available. There is a good chance you can just do the germ-a-phobe dance for the weeks/months until then.
posted by -harlequin- at 5:07 PM on June 25