• People with asthma are at increased risk for severe complications of influenza, including 2009 H1N1 flu.
• People with asthma account for approximately 32% of 2009 H1N1 hospitalizations in the United States.
• People with asthma need to have their asthma well-controlled and should have an updated asthma action plan. Medication to control asthma (usually inhaled corticosteroids) should be used as prescribed by each patient's health care provider.
• Less than half of people with asthma seek treatment promptly when they are sick with flu-like symptoms.
• Because people with asthma are at higher risk of serious flu-related complications, they should seek treatment promptly when ill with either influenza like illness (ILI) or an asthma exacerbation.
• It's very important that antiviral drugs be used early to treat people who are sick with flu and have a greater chance of getting serious flu complications, like people with asthma.
• People with asthma with suspected 2009 H1N1 infection should be treated promptly with oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu®). Zanamivir (trade name Relenza®) is NOT recommended for people with asthma.
• People with asthma should get the 2009 H1N1 flu shot (injectable, inactivated formulation only).
• People with asthma also are recommended to get the seasonal flu shot (injectable, inactivated formulation only).
• People with asthma should NOT get the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), also known as the nasal spray vaccine, for either seasonal flu or 2009 H1N1.
• All people 65 years of age and older and persons 2 through 64 years of age with certain high-risk conditions (having asthma or smoking cigarettes) should receive a single dose of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV).

Your Child with Asthma Needs a Flu Shot! (exit DHS)
This podcast discusses the importance of the flu vaccine for children with asthma from the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Resources for Asthma Patients, Parents of Patients and Healthcare Professionals (exit DHS)
For updated information on asthma and H1N1 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Wisconsin's Pandemic Flu Resource
For up-to-date influenza information in Wisconsin from the Department of Health Services.

WAC has made great strides in improving asthma management since the release of the Wisconsin Asthma Plan 2003, but the burden of this disease and its disproportionate impact remains a priority. The Wisconsin Asthma Plan 2009-2014, focuses on addressing asthma disparities to reduce the overall burden of asthma in Wisconsin. WAC’s dedicated and determined statewide partners will work strategically and diligently to meet the challenges for the next five years and beyond.
Executive Summary: Wisconsin Asthma Plan 2009-2014  (PDF, 413 KB)

This article is in recognition of this year's World Asthma Day theme, "You Can Control Your Asthma."  World Asthma Day, Tuesday, May 5, 2009, is an annual event organized to improve asthma awareness and care around the world. Many communities plan their Asthma Awareness Month activities in conjunction with World Asthma Day.

These six short videos were created by the Wisconsin team of the Leadership Forum for Healthy Students and Healthy Schools, which  is an activity of American Association of the School Administrator’s cooperative agreement with the CDC to build the capacity of school leaders to work on asthma issues. In close partnership with the National School Boards Association, a five-state partnership was convened to bring together superintendents, school board members, and state health, education, and asthma leaders.

Asthma Basics

Wisconsin Asthma Coalition