those who are becoming infected first and are spreading infection to other age groups -- might have significant benefits in curbing the spread of influenza within communities. Dr. Kenneth D. Mandl, also from Children's Hospital Boston and co-author of the report, told Reuters Health that "on the one hand, it is not surprising that preschoolers are bringing home infections into the family. There is ample medical literature to show that young kids do spread influenza throughout households and vaccinating them will reduce household spread." What's new about their study, he noted, "is that it shows that these kids seem to be having a very large impact on the community-wide spread of influenza starting right at the beginning of each year's influenza epidemic. What we didn't know before is that 3- to 4-year-olds really seem to spark the whole epidemic."
