First flu cases in Italy confirmed

Officials urge those at risk to get shots

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - This year's flu epidemic in Italy has officially opened with the confirmation of three cases of 'Australian flu', the national Influenza Center said on Thursday. The A7H3N2 flu virus was identified in three cases examined by the center's laboratory at the University of Parma and involved a five-year-old boy, a 35-year-old woman and her two-year-old son, all of whom had not been vaccinated. Health officials have confirmed that the current flu vaccine available in pharmacies and hospitals is effective against the 'Australian flu'. Getting a flu shot, said Health Undersecretary Ferruccio Fazio, ''is an effective and safe way to prevent the illness and its consequences. I would like to remain those who have not yet been vaccinated that the best time to do so is before the end of December''. Flu shots are free in Italy for people over 65 years of age, infants above six months and children and adults with chronic illnesses and life-threatening diseases. They are also offered free of charge to police and firemen, pregnant women, doctors, nurses and other health workers including caregivers. The flu season is expected to enter full swing during the Christmas holidays and peak in mid-to-late January. THIS SEASON'S FLU STRONGER THAN LAST. According to the World Health Organization, this year's flu epidemic will be more aggressive than those of the past two years. ''While last year some 2.8 million people caught the flu, this year we expect that number to range from a minimum of three million to a maximum of seven,'' said Aurelio Sessa, the influenza department chief at the Italian Medical Society. ''Every year flu is looked at as a seasonal phenomenon and little attention is paid to it. The fact is that it has an enormous impact on the national health system and the economy, if one just considers the number of working days lost to illness,'' he added. In 2006, close to five million Italian employees lost one or more days to flu for a total of some 32.275 million days for a cost of over 2.86 billion euros. ''Influenza is the third cause of death from infectious disease after AIDS and tuberculosis and every year in Italy some 8,000 deaths are attributed to flu, many of which could have been avoided through vaccination'' Sessa recalled. According to University of Milan virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco, ''influenza is a viral illness caused by a virus which provokes high fever, shivering, coughing, sore throat, head and muscle aches in most adults, while the elderly and the very young are also subject to intestinal disturbances''. Real influenza, he added, ''must not be confused with the common cold which sometimes has the same flu symptoms''. Pregliasco observed that the best way to treat 'real' flu was to rest and let it run its course. Because there is no medicine which can cure the virus, he added, medicines should only be used to treat common flu and cold symptoms like fever, runny noses, stomach problems and aches. These symptoms, Pregliasco explained, were in fact the reaction of the body's immune system to the flu virus. Antibiotics, the expert warned, should be avoided because they are effective against bacterial infections and not against viral infections. The only times when antibiotics should be used is when there are bacterial complications from flu, for example in the respiratory system, he said.