Overall, FluMist was safe and well tolerated by the volunteers, who, according to the investigators, much preferred the spray to a shot. In the fall of 1997, the investigators revaccinated all the children in the study with a single dose of the vaccine or placebo, according to which preparation they originally received. The children have been followed for a second influenza season to test the efficacy of revaccination. Results from this follow-up phase are expected later this summer. In addition, Aviron is currently sponsoring several other trials, including one in healthy adults, one in children with asthma and one testing FluMist in combination with the injected flu vaccine in elderly people with additional risk factors for influenza.
Influenza is an acute respiratory infection that can be caused by a variety of flu viruses.
The virus spreads from person to person via airborne droplets of respiratory fluids, especially after an infected person coughs or sneezes. Flu viruses generally enter the body through the mucous membranes lining the eyes, nose and mouth. The primary symptoms include headache, chills and a dry cough, followed rapidly by body aches, malaise and fever. Typically, the fever starts dropping on the second or third day of the illness as upper respiratory symptoms, nasal congestion and sore throat become more prominent. Most people recover from the flu within a week.