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A look at the 2003-2004 flu season.

Article Excerpt
Overall, the flu hit people in the United States earlier than usual during the 2003-2004 flu season, and lab tests showed evidence of a strain of the virus that's typically associated with more severe seasons. Taking a cue from the flu season just ending, experts say it's not too early to make a note for this fall: Vaccination is the best protection against the flu and can prevent many illnesses and deaths. Even for people who come down with the flu after vaccination, the illness is generally less severe than in people who didn't get vaccinated.

A Serious Illness

Media reports in November 2003 highlighted flu-related deaths in children in Colorado. But experts stress that flu, a contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus, is serious every year. "Influenza is always the most important cause of acute respiratory illness that causes patients to seek medical care each year," says Paul Glezen, M.D., a professor of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "Children are bit hard each year. This is a particularly bad epidemic, and we have had several deaths here in Texas, though not the same publicity as with Colorado."

Between October 2003 and early January 2004, the deaths of 93 children younger than 18 had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control...

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