Cities With Teams In Super Bowl Have More Flu-Related Deaths, Study Finds
SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) – People in the Carolinas and in Colorado should be careful about double dipping at Super Bowl 50 parties. A new study of cities with teams in the Super Bowl found higher rates of flu-related deaths, particularly among the elderly.
In a study titled "Success Is Something to Sneeze At: Influenza Mortality in Cities that Participate in the Super Bowl," researchers at Tulane and Cornell universities studied areas with Super Bowl teams from 1974 through 2009.
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The researchers found areas with Super Bowl teams had an 18 percent increase in flu deaths among people over 65.
Charles Stoecker of the Tulane School of Public Health said Super Bowl gatherings could help spread the flu.
"Every year, we host these parties that we go to and it changes mixing patterns, and you are coughing and sneezing and sharing chips and dip with people that you often don't, and so we get the influenza transmitted in novel ways that's then going to eventually wind up in the lungs of a 65-year-old," Stoecker said in a university statement.
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Researchers found flu deaths did not go up in cities hosting the Super Bowl, which would be encouraging to organizers of Super Bowl 50 this Sunday at Levi's Stadium. Stoecker said it's because the game is traditionally held in warmer areas less favorable for flu transmission.
KPIX 5's Roberta Gonzales said the forecast in Santa Clara at kickoff would be sunny and 70 degrees.
The study has been published in the American Journal of Health and Economics.
Tim Fang is a digital producer for CBS San Francisco. A native of the Bay Area, follow him on Twitter @fangtj.
