Influenza in children serves as a gateway to severe complications in elderly people.

· The lifestyle changes that grandparents do maintain permanent contact with their grandchildren, increasing infection rates.

· Ten per cent of the pneumonias are caused by the influenza virus. In the elderly are given pneumonia by influenza virus and bacteria that infect the lung secondarily.

· Influenza epidemics usually begin in Asia and Europe that travel falling from north to south, increasing the reaction time margin of the orbit Mediterranean countries.

· Commit the respiratory complications of cardiovascular disease course bringing the morbidity and mortality.

Influenza in children has become the gateway of influenza and other viral infections in elderly people through changes in lifestyle. This is the main conclusion from the musings of Victor Bustamante, a member of the Epidemiology Service of Hospital de Basurto, and rapporteur for a new meeting of the initiative informative meetings with health, sponsored by the Academy of Medical Sciences Bilbao and the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU). This is the starting point of the conference was given this afternoon at the Library of Bidebarrieta which will show that continuous contact of grandchildren and grandparents, led by the narrowness of hours for parents, increases the risk of diseases jumping virus from childhood to old age.


Victor Bustamante warns that it is a contrasting epidemiological evidence that viral epidemics reach society through the children. At the time of concretion in percentages, the specialist notes that some 65 per cent of the cases is the child who introduced the virus into their environment. A study based on observation concludes that two or three weeks after hatching, the respiratory disease hit the jump to adults, especially in regard to respiratory disorders.


It is not a minor issue. Not surprisingly, the morbidity and mortality of elderly people who have respiratory problems are significant. Thus, an influenza epidemic in children, which is resolved with conventional treatment, can become a health problem uppercase. In this risk group of seniors must be added that of the chronically ill, a type of patients also sensitized to this epidemic.


Prevention is looming, then, as the most effective remedy to prevent the spread of the virus. Vaccination of risk groups of people with chronic disease and over 65 years-is the most recommendable. Recall, the expert points out, that breathing problems are added, usually, the heart of the difficulties older people, as extreme risk. The increased mortality in this population that is observed in winter dates has to do with the assault by respiratory viruses.


Not enough to undertake preventive vaccination campaign. Victor Bustamante recommends an intensive surveillance campaign that emphasizes the type of vaccine efficacy. It is known that influenza epidemics usually begin in Asia and Europe that travel falling from north to south, increasing the reaction time margin of the orbit Mediterranean countries.


The situation is aggravated low temperatures of the harsh winter, while Victor Bustamante believes that the virulence of the virus this year is larger than previous courses. It happens, though, that the cold exacerbates the potential complications and increases the morbidity and mortality of the disease and the onset of pneumonia.


It is not a minor issue. The flu and colds directly affect previous complications. On several occasions, stressed the specialist, are increased heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. Cardiovascular disease suffer significantly if associated with respiratory difficulties. It is true that each year patients die directly from flu, but many more who, with other diseases, died with her.