How to Protect Senior Citizens From Bird Flu

Senior citizens are at high risk of catching bird flu during a pandemic because their immune systems are weaker due to their age.

While it's true that not many bird flu victims of the current strain of H5N1 have been elderly, that's probably because it's in countries where the life expectancy is lower than in developed countries, so there just aren't as many elderly people. Plus, they are not as likely to have direct contact with living or uncooked chickens.

However, once bird flu becomes contagious, we can expect that elderly will be just as at risk for catching the virus if exposed to it, and more at risk of dying from it or associated infections and consequences.

Regular flu shots may protect seniors to the extent that the shots keep them from becoming sick and weakened from catching ordinary flu. The flu shots themselves are for the 3 most common strains of ordinary flu going around, not for bird flu.

Eventually there will be a bird flu vaccine, but it will not be exactly targeted toward the contagious strain of H5N1. That means it will provide only partial protection from the contagious strain. Since seniors have weakened immune systems, they will have less ability to benefit from the cross-immunity.

Therefore, the main strategy to protect seniors from bird flu is still social isolation -- to stay away from as many people as possible to avoid exposure to the virus.

Just as children should be kept out of day care centers and schools during a bird flu pandemic, seniors should stay away from adult day care centers.

Of course, many seniors are socially isolated anyway, which is normally not good, but it could save their life during a bird flu pandemic.

Of course, family members should look in on their senior relatives, but this contact should be limited, and children should be kept at home, since they can easily transmit infection.

A big risk to seniors will be not getting professional care and medicine for their other medical problems. A bird flu pandemic will not make heart attacks, high blood pressure or strokes disappear, but will severely strain the ability of hospitals and clinics to care for anybody except flu victims.

So seniors should try to make some arrangements with their care providers for emergency service in the event of a pandemic. Also, they should arrange for the stockpiling of their regular prescription medicines, since they may be unable to obtain them at their usual drugstore after the transportation system is disrupted.

Nursing homes will be of particular concern, since residents of them will be particularly weak and at risk from infectious diseases. Nursing home staff should be particularly careful to clean their hands thoroughly when going from resident to resident. All staff and visitors should wash their hands and rub alcohol lotion on them frequently.

In fact, frequent hand washing is one of the best ways for everyone to protect themselves from contagious flu. So make sure everybody in your family of all ages washes their hands well and frequently.

It's also important that nursing home staff members who have sick families members or who feel sick themselves stay home, to avoid bringing bird flu to the nursing home. Unfortunately, staffing shortages will probably be a problem simply because of the staff themselves becoming sick, dying or just plain hiding out at home.

Seniors may object to anything new, but they should be encouraged to take any supplements that can increase the strength of their immune systems: Vitamin C, zinc, selenium, Omega-3, beta carotene and others.

And of course, consult with their doctor, especially regarding chronic medical conditions.

Richard Stooker is the author of How to Protect Yourself and Your Family From Bird Flu and Bird Flu Blog