Influenza, commonly called the flu, is a viral illness with a 48-hour incubation period. It is characterized by abrupt onset of myalgia, sore throat, headache, fever of 102-103 degrees, and a nonproductive cough. Secondary bacterial infection and pneumonia, which can sometimes cause death, are the rare but possible complications of influenza in persons who are in the high-risk groups.

Rates of hospitalizations during flu epidemics vary with age. According to Center for Disease Control (CDC) data, from 200 to1,000 per 100,000 people among those 65 or older are hospitalized during such epidemics. The rate falls among those between 5 to 65 years of age (between 20 to 30 per 100,000 are hospitalized), but rises among children 4 years or younger, of which 100 plus per 100,000 are hospitalized. All of these statistics are based on individuals without high-risk conditions.

Persons already suffering from cardio/pulmonary conditions are at an increased risk of hospitalization and death. Persons who should not be vaccinated are those having allergies to eggs or other vaccine components and persons with acute febrile illness.

CDC data shows vaccine risks to be fever, malaise and myalgia (sounds like the flu, doesn't it?), along with allergic reactions that can be fatal, and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a slow, sometimes fatal condition). During epidemics from 1969-94, the estimated number of influenza-associated hospitalizations ranged from 20,000 to over 300,000 per epidemic. Of the three types of influenza strains (A, B and C), type A strains cause the greatest number of cases of the flu. The population group who suffer the greatest mortality rates are the over-65 group with rates of 25 to 150 deaths per 100,000. This group accounts for 90% of all deaths from influenza.

Each year, three strains (usually two type A and one type B) are chosen to go into the following years' vaccine batch. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the system of trying to predict which strains will cause influenza during the next year is little more than an educated guess. Besides trying to guess which strain may strike the upcoming year, there is also the problem of "antigenic drift," wherein mutations of the virus cause the virus to resist the strain in the vaccine.

As noted in the MERCK Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, between 70 to 90% of all healthy individuals who were vaccinated did not have to be hospitalized. What this statistic doesn't show, however, is the number of vaccinated individuals who wouldn't have gotten the flu even without vaccination. Also not shown are the risk of death from the vaccine and the risk of death among healthy individuals from natural infection. The MERCK manual states that "recovery is the rule in uncomplicated influenza."

Dr. William Howard Hay has pointed out that in any epidemic of communicable disease, only a small percentage of the population contracts the disease. Most people are naturally immune. It proves nothing if a vaccinated person does not contract the disease. If this person had not been vaccinated, chances are that he or she would not have contracted the disease anyway.

The big question then is how does one person resist infection and another fall victim to it? The immune system, which is primarily regulated by the nervous system, is designed to fight infection naturally. A properly functioning nervous system can produce interferon and other substances to fight viral infections like influenza naturally. Immunoglobulin A coats the surface of our respiratory tract to prevent viruses such as influenza from gaining access to our bodies. The answer to avoiding illness thus lies with strengthening the immune system. There are safer ways to strengthen the immune system without vaccines and without the risks that vaccines carry.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and a natural immune system booster. Echinacea has been shown to fight both viral and bacterial infections. Colloidal silver is another natural infection fighter. Good nutrition, exercise, adequate rest, a positive mental attitude and a properly functioning nervous system through regular Chiropractic care are all ways of strengthening and enhancing the nervous/immune systems. Utilizing these methods without immunizations or other drugs has allowed me to suffer from only two infections in the past seven years.

Dr. Wheeler is a practicing Chiropractor at Alaska Back Care Center in Anchorage. He will be giving a free vaccination awareness seminar in November. Call (907) 349-4212 for more information.