Call it a case of bad news/good news.
First the bad for Minnesotans – the Vikings are not playing in the Super Bowl.
Now for the good. In what is a particularly virulent influenza season, not having a home team playing in the big game may actually cut down on flu-related deaths.
“It turns out that the cities who host, so you folks, are actually going to be not quite as adversely affected as the cities that are sending teams to the Super Bowl,” Cornell University Assistant Professor Nicholas Sanders told KARE 11.
Sanders and his colleagues authored research published in the American Journal of Health Economics that analyzed information on flu deaths in the U.S. from 1974 to 2009.
They found there is a Super Bowl spike in flu deaths.
“In a nutshell,” said Sanders, “we ended up finding that cities that send teams to the Super Bowl see increases in mortality related to influenza in the most susceptible populations, those 65 and older.”
The research found that geographic areas that have an NFL team make it to the Super Bowl had an 18 percent spike in flu-related deaths.
“It’s not an inconsequential effect and it tends to be worse in seasons that have worse flu outbreaks like we do this year. It also tends to be worse in seasons where the Super Bowl corresponds to peak of the flu season which is exactly what we’re seeing this time around,” he said.
The researchers suspect that increased socialization at Super Bowl parties and other events that bring people together for the game leads to an increase in the transmission of the flu, especially in cities that have teams participating.
But when it comes to host cities, like Minneapolis, no change in influenza mortality rates was discovered.
With a million visitors expected, Super Bowl event organizers report doing what they can to keep fans healthy by wiping down exhibits with sanitizing wipes multiple times a day.
The Minnesota Department of Health’s latest Weekly Influenza & Respiratory Illness Activity Report shows the flu is widespread.
State health officials are recommending the flu shot, despite the vaccine being less effective this year.
They are also encouraging common sense medicine.
Covering coughs and sneezes, especially when you're around large crowds of people, and washing your hands as often as you can.
“And if you're sick, you need to stay home. That's not something we want to share with guests from out of state," said Kris Ehresmann, with the Minnesota Department of Health.