Pregnant women warned of flu danger, urged to seek vaccine

Pregnant women warned of flu danger, urged to seek vaccine
Wed Dec 10, 9:12 PM ET


DALLAS (AP) - Flu cases among young pregnant women surged at a large public
hospital in Dallas, calling attention to yet another group at serious risk
of the flu.

About 80 expectant mothers have been diagnosed with the flu since early
October, said Dr. Jeanne Sheffield, a maternal and fetal medicine specialist
at Parkland Health and Hospital System. More than 60 were admitted, with one
treated in the intensive-care unit, she said.


Pregnancy weakens a woman's immune system, making her more vulnerable to the
virus. Only two of the women had the flu shot and they had it just before
they became ill, so they were not protected.


But Sheffield said it is rare to see so many pregnant women sick. Most were
in their teens and early 20s; all recovered and are out of the hospital.


"Maybe we may have admitted five or 10 a year in the past," Sheffield said.


"This is much different than normal."


It isn't clear why Parkland had so many flu cases among pregnant women. Some
health officials speculate it's because Parkland - with 15,000 births
annually among the leading hospitals for deliveries - is a large public
hospital that treats many uninsured people. Its patients are less likely to
see a doctor regularly or early in an illness, Sheffield said.


A Texas Department of Health survey found no other serious outbreaks among
pregnant women in the state and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (news - web sites) has not heard of any similar outbreaks.


Sheffield believes Parkland also is being more aggressive about testing for
the flu than other hospitals. Testing was done on all pregnant women who
showed flu symptoms after one sick woman with an unusually high heart rate
was diagnosed with it in October.


"Suddenly, all of us were very aware that influenza was around and it was
affecting our pregnant women," she said.


"We jumped on it very, very quickly."


Among the states with major flu outbreaks, Texas was the first where the
virus was widespread. That may explain why Dallas is the first to report
such a high number of sick pregnant women, said Dr. Tim Uyeki, a CDC
epidemiologist.


"Any type of infection can lead to pre-term labour," Sheffield said, adding
the flu can progress to more dangerous infections such as pneumonia or
meningitis.


While flu shots are encouraged for everyone, women in their second and third
trimesters are among those at high risk, along with women at any stage of
pregnancy who are HIV (news - web sites)-positive.


Parkland began a vaccination campaign among pregnant women when doctors
noticed the upswing in cases, Sheffield said, and free shots are offered to
all pregnant women treated at the hospital or any of its community clinics.


The number of flu cases began to taper off last week, the doctor said.