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William J. Martone, M.D
interviewed by Anthony Qaiyum on November 16, 1995
"Not all vaccines are 100 percent effective, and neither is the influenza vaccine."
Dr. Martone is the senior executive director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
Tripod: For such a common affliction, it seems that we know very little about the flu. Can you give me a brief definition of influenza?
WJM: Influenza is an infectious disease, and it's common during the fall and winter months. It's characterized by fever, headaches, severe muscle pains, cough. The symptoms can be moderately severe, causing people to miss work, stay at home, and even, in high risk people, can lead to more severe complications such as pneumonia, and ultimately some of these elderly people die.
Tripod: How is it transferred?
WJM: It's transferred from person to person, by droplets in aerosol. Because it's an airborne disease.
Tripod: Now that we are about to hit the rough part of flu season, can you suggest any strategies to help our readers avoid the flu?
WJM: The single most important thing they can do is receive the influenza vaccine. It's one dose of vaccine, which will offer protection for that particular influenza season. And those vaccines are being administered right now.
Tripod: Why are there so many articles debating the shot's effectiveness-- saying that it can't possibly protect against all strains of the flu?
WJM: Well, each year there's a surveillance group at [the Center for Disease Control], which looks at the type of influenza strain that's most likely to be circulating during that particular flu year, so predictions are made, and then that particular strain of influenza is put in the vaccine for protection for the upcoming flu year. Not all vaccines are 100 percent effective, and neither is the influenza vaccine. But it is effective, and people who want to protect themselves against flu should give it a shot.
"The single most important thing they can do is receive the influenza vaccine."
Tripod: What about the time honored advice such as making sure you have enough rest, eating well, and washing you hands regularly?
WJM: Well that would certainly apply for anything. And especially if you have a case of flu, you should certainly make sure you wash your hands after contact with any secretions.
Tripod: What is your opinion on natural remedies such as the herb echinacea, which has been shown to bolster the body's immune system in scientific tests?
WJM: I have no information on any of that.
Tripod: Some cynics say that many doctors only recommend the flu shot because it keeps doctors and pharmaceutical companies in business, whereas natural remedies do not. Is there any truth to this?
WJM: I have no comment. I can only go by the medical literature, and well controlled studies. And the flu vaccine is an effective way to protect yourself from the flu with efficacies running up to 80 percent. The other thing that's used, if people can't take the flu shot for some reason, are two drugs, called amantadine and rymantadine. These two drugs need to be taken throughout the period of exposure to flu virus in order to protect from flu, and it will only protect from Influenza A. It has no effect against the Influenza B virus.
Tripod: You're personally not concerned with natural remedies. You don't think there's a possibility there?
WJM: I just have no information about them.
Tripod: Is there a difference between the flu and the common cold?
WJM: Oh yeah. The flu is a much more severe disease. Probably the best way to distinguish between the two is fever. You get a moderately high fever from influenza, whereas with the common cold you don't get any fever. You can have fevers of 102 to 104 with influenza. And also the severe muscle aches you get with flu-- you don't usually see those with common colds.
Tripod: Does exposure to cold weather really make you sick, or is that just an old wives tale?
WJM: I don't think there's really much evidence for that. You know, cold weather tends to make people congregate in indoor situations, where it might make it more likely for viruses to be spread this way. That may ultimately be the link between epidemics of flu and weather.
Tripod: Do you see a time in the future when the flu will no longer be a common health problem?
WJM: I don't see that in the near future. It's been around for a long time. And it really depends on medical technology and ways to engineer new vaccines and drugs. So I think it will be with us for a while.
Information about the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases is available at:
http://www.medscape.com/nfid/
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