Research Shows Super Bowl Parties Spread Flu

While pleanty of hard-core Broncos and Panthers fans will turn out to bars and house parties in their teal and orange, most Super Bowl party attendees are just there for the fun, food and booze.

This may sound a bit insane but hear me out (and even if I did write about death by cattle yesterday, I promise I’m not really that morbid).

Although older adults may not change their habits much if their local team makes it to the Super Bowl, their chances of coming into contact with someone who has the flu increases as the infection rate climbs in the overall population, Sanders said.

With economists from Tulane and Cornell University, researchers analyzed county-level statistics from 1974-2009, and found having a team in the Super Bowl resulted in an average 18 percent increase in flu deaths among those over 65 years old.

This matters not only for those vulnerable to flu, but actually has a pretty broad impact.

How easy is it for the flu to spread?

“It’s people that are staying at home and hosting small local gatherings, so your Super Bowl party, that are actually passing influenza among themselves”, Charles Stoecker, from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and lead author of the study, said. A study at Tulane University found that fans in cities with teams in the Super Bowl have an increased risk of dying from flu.

So, for those of you living in a Super Bowl team town, beware the Sunday party.

This year’s flu season is shaping up to be a mild one so far, but the virus is still likely to kill thousands of people and sicken many more. “The study found that the number of flu deaths is seven times greater when the peak of the flu season happens near the Super Bowl”, says Swaminathan.

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about flu prevention. If you are sick, avoid social gatherings.

Flu deaths are concentrated among those 65 years and older – 40.7 people per million die from the flu.

Those hosting parties might want to consider providing hand sanitizers to guests, to be placed next to the drinks and snacks.

To do your part to help clamp down on the spread of the flu virus while still supporting your team, Stoecker recommends washing your hands, getting vaccinated and putting a sign above that cheese dip that says “Scoop Once!”