Treating Flu Symptoms May Create More Cases
Medicines that cut fever and pain help viruses replicate and send infectious people out into the world, at a possible cost of an additional thousand U.S. flu deaths a year
By Christopher Intagliata
SUBSCRIBE TO Science Quickly
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Last time you had the flu, did you take anything to relieve your aches and pains? If so, you may have inadvertently made yourself more contagious. Because pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen cut your fever—allowing flu viruses to replicate more efficiently, and increasing your chance of infecting others.
Now researchers have modeled the public health consequences of this widespread use of over-the-counter pain drugs on flu transmission in the U.S. They estimate that pain meds could increase the number of annual flu cases by five percent. And since seasonal flu kills more than 41,000 Americans a year, that five percent increase in flu victims translates to a thousand additional deaths. The finding is in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. [David J. D. Earn, Paul W. Andrews and Benjamin M. Bolker, Population-level effects of suppressing fever]
Study author David Earn, of McMaster University in Ontario, suggests we should be more mindful when taking meds: "If you decide to take drugs to make yourself feel better, just recognize that you should still consider staying home or not sending kids to school. Even though they feel better, they might be more likely to transmit to others." And hey—the extra rest will do you good.
—Christopher Intagliata
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
