Flu treatment fails in the US – experts look to Canada to get answers.

Canada appears to know a lot more about flu prevention and flu treatment than the U.S. The statistics speak for themselves. Over the past 4 years Canada had a total of 16 flu-related deaths for their pediatric age group, which includes all those under the age of 18. Included in this are all seasonal cases, as well as those resulting from H1N1. 75 percent of these fatalities had chronic and serious underlying health conditions. So, that’s 16 deaths in total, from a pediatric population of 7.86 million, most of whom (around 60 percent) remained unvaccinated. To compare, during the same span of 4 years, the same U.S. pediatric category had 553 flu-related fatalities. If you break these figures down into children without underlying medical conditions, Canada has an average of only 1 flu-related child death a year, while in the U.S. that average is 35. Moreover, per capita, the U.S. has a shocking 3.2 times death rate of Canada.

So, what does Canada do that the U. S. doesn’t? For one, Canada acknowledges the major role of vitamin D when it comes to flu prevention. Many people don’t realize that unlike flu shots, vitamin D is a surefire way to keep you from catching infectious diseases. New research has also shown that vitamin D could help decrease spreading of viral respiratory tract infections, such as influenza. One significant study that involved about 19,000 Americans found that those with the lowest levels of vitamin D in the blood reported having more recent colds or flu cases. Unfortunately, the U.S. health officials were not very keen on letting the general population know that optimizing their levels of vitamin D may drastically reduce their risk of getting the flu.

The U.S. has an abysmal record when it comes to flu treatment and prevention. Their main answer for prevention, the flu shot, has not demonstrated any measurable impact on the most important thing, which is reducing the levels of illness and, of course, mortality. The flu shot does not protect most people from catching the flu. Instead, it actually does the complete opposite and weakens the immune system, which might mean serious trouble, particularly if your level of vitamin D is low as well. In 2009, amidst all the swine flu hype, a Canadian study discovered that people who had received seasonal flu shots were actually twice as likely to get the H1N1 virus. The U.S. mysteriously ignored these findings and went ahead anyway with recommending vaccinations for both the seasonal and the H1N1 virus. One can easily start to wonder if the government is partnering with pharmaceutical companies to raise profits instead doing their job in policing them and protecting your health.

Go to this site for information about the flu in the US: flu.gov
Go to this site for information about the flu in the Canada: phac-aspc.gc.ca

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.