Management of Prevalent Infections in Children Following a Disaster

Chemoprophylaxis or prolonged administration of antiviral medications during the periods of highest risk for transmission is an adjunct for control and prevention of influenza in specific situations and is not a substitute for immunization. Chemoprophylaxis should be considered for protection of children at increased risk of severe infection or complications who are unable to receive influenza vaccine due to contraindications and for immunocompromised children who may not respond to vaccine. Other considerations include the protection of unimmunized high-risk children or children who were immunized less than two weeks before influenza circulation and who may not have developed an adequate immune response, protection of unimmunized close contacts of high-risk children, protection of immunized high-risk children if the circulating influenza stra to maintain immunity to current influenza strains. All currently available inactivated in is a poor match to the strain in the vaccine and for the control of influenza outbreaks in some institutional closed settings.