Four key areas of concern raised in the report include: child-appropriate doses of vaccine and medications; management and treatment of children who become ill; including children in strategies to slow the spread of influenza in communities; and caring for and supervising the health of children if schools and childcare facilities are closed for extended periods of time.
"Children are not simply small adults, especially when it comes to medical concerns. The fact that H5N1 has been disproportionately impacting children and adolescents should give us pause," said Jeff Levi, PhD, Executive Director of TFAH. "As the U.S. prepares for the threat of a possible pandemic flu, we must make caring for our kids a priority, not an afterthought."
AAP Committee on Infectious Disease (COID) Member John S. Bradley, MD, FAAP, of Children's Hospital San Diego said, "Children tend to be major vectors. They are inherently more at-risk for contagious respiratory diseases because they have limited pre-existing immunity, often spend lots of time in groups, and tend to share germs easily."
Bradley continued by saying, "Right now, we are behind the curve in finding ways to limit the spread of a pandemic in children even though they are among those most at-risk."
According to researchers findings:
-- There are currently only 100,000 courses of antivirals for children in the Strategic National Stockpile. There are currently 73.6 million children in the U.S. A severe pandemic outbreak could result in 25 percent of the U.S. population becoming ill. Children are known to often be disproportionately impacted by contagious respiratory illnesses.
-- Neither of the two antiviral drugs that have been shown effective against H5N1 are licensed for children younger than 1 year of age.
-- A vaccine that is well-matched for a pandemic would not be available for at least 6 months after a major outbreak begins, and tests would have to be conducted to determine safety levels for children and adults once it is available.
-- Approximately 30 million children rely on the National School Lunch Program for meals each day and many rely school nurses for health care, and there are no plans in place to provide these services if schools are closed.
Experts predict a severe pandemic flu outbreak could result in up to 1.9 million deaths in the U.S., approximately 9.9 million Americans needing to be hospitalized, and an economic recession with losses over $680 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
