חיסונים למבוגרים

לאור כתבתך בידיעות אחרונות מתאריך 7/2/10 בנושא. האם מהפן המקצועי , יש יעילות לחיסונים בגיל המבוגר. פורסמו הרבה מחקרים הטוענים כי מערכת החיסון אצל מבוגרים איננה מצליחה לייצר מספיק נוגדנים למחלות אשר כנגדן מחסנים. למשל שפעת עונתית,דלקת ריאות ,וקבלת חיסון לא ימנע מלחלות בהן.

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Aging health. 2008 December 1; 4(6): 603–613. Influenza vaccination in the elderly: seeking new correlates of protection and improved vaccines Impact of influenza in older people & the benefits of vaccination Influenza viruses are a common cause of respiratory illnesses among persons in all age groups, and typically occur during winter months for those living in temperate climates. The complications of influenza are not uncommon and may include secondary bacterial infections and exacerbations of underlying medical conditions. The elderly are among the groups at highest risk for the serious complications of influenza that might result in hospitalization or death. Each year in the USA, approximately 60% of the nearly 300,000 excess respiratory and circulatory hospitalizations [1], and 85–90% or more of the 31,000–51,000 excess deaths from all causes [2], are attributable to influenza that occurs among persons aged 65 years and older. Owing to the limitations of epidemiologic studies, an often unrecognized complication is the risk for catastrophic disability (defined as a loss of three or more basic activities of daily living in older adults) [3], and loss of functional independence as a result of an influenza illness [4,5]. Given their high risk for these serious, influenza-associated complications, the elderly are included among the high-priority groups for annual influenza vaccination in many countries [6. Vaccination programs are cost effective in older people and even cost-saving in developed countries, despite being only 40–60% effective in this population [7–11]. The fact that these vaccines also prevent complications of influenza (pneumonia, heart attacks, strokes and exacerbations of congestive heart failure) provides even greater incentive to increase the use of existing vaccines and develop new vaccines that are targeted to the unique immune function of older people [10,12. Current influenza vaccination programs reduce hospitalization rates by 30 to 40% [8,9]. Even so, and despite widespread immunization, hospitalizations due to influenza-related illnesses continue to rise [1]. This observation has been attributed to aging of the population, rising prevalence of chronic diseases that increase the risk for complicated influenza illness, and circulation of other respiratory illnesses that have similar presentations to influenza in older people [13. In the absence of vaccination, the risk of hospitalization or death from influenza is increased, particularly in those with chronic diseases. The risk of hospitalization or death in the most vulnerable elderly people ,specifically, chronic heart and lung conditions, renal diseases or transplant, dementia or stroke, and hematological and nonhematological cancer, is more than 60-times that of healthy elderly people (65–75 years old) [14,15].