The Influenza virus is a unique respiratory viral disease that can have serious economic and social disruption to society. The virus is airborne transmitted through droplets release by coughing or sneezing from an infected person or by touching infected surfaces. Symptoms range from mild to severe and may even result in death. People with the virus usually experience fever, headache, shivering, muscle pain and cough, which can lead to more severe respiratory illness such as pneumonia. People most susceptible to the flu virus are elderly individuals and young children as well as anyone whose health or immune system has been compromise. The most effective way to counteract the influenza virus is to get the flu vaccine which is available by shots or nasal spray before the flu season as well as practicing safe hygiene. (CDC, 2013)
However due to globalization, import and export viruses is more easily transmitted. Over the past century the global community especially Asian has been affected with new strains of the influenza virus. The changes in the virus can occur in two ways “antigenic drift” which are gradual changes in the virus over time. This change produces new strains that the antibody may not recognize. “Antigenic shift” On the other is a sudden change in the influenza virus which ‘’ results in a new influenza A subtype or a virus with a hemagglutinin or a hemagglutinin and neuraminidase combination that has emerged from an animal population,” as seen with H5N1 virus. This change leaves people defenseless against this new virus. (CDC, 2013) Currently there is no vaccine to combat all strains therefore “Planning and preparedness for implementing mitigation strategies during a pandemic requires participation by all levels o...
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... without causing an economic crisis as well. History of the evolution of the virus shows origin in Asia among poultry, closing monitoring as well as restricting travel activity and import of poultry in these regions will be highly recommended in the event of a detection of the Avian virus.
Works Cited
CDC. (2013, 09 12) Seasonal influenza (flu). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/index.htm
CDC (2007, 02) Community strategy for pandemic influenza mitigation in the United States Retrieved from http://www.flu.gov/planning-preparedness/community/community_mitigation.pdf
NYSDOH. (2013, 12) Influenza pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/pandemic/
National Institute of Medicine (2007) Ethical and legal considerations in mitigating pandemic disease Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK54163/
Almost no one on Earth has any immunity at all to this virus, which makes ordinary vaccines useless against it. The sudden spread of the virus into Europe foreshadows an epidemic development that could be worldwide. Ultimately, there is no way to protect ourselves against epidemics. They will keep disappearing and coming back in new forms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Essen, G. A., "The Socio-Economic Impact of Influenza". http://www.eswi.org/Bulletin_October_1997.cfm [2] Frayha, Husn. " Influenza Vaccination: A Call for Action" http://www.kfshrc.edu.sa/annals/176/97-248R.html [3] "Influenza". http://www.caw.ca/whatwedo/health&safety/factsheet/hsfssubstanceno37.asp
"Pandemic Flu History." Home. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d. Web. 23 Mar.
One of the most virulent strains of influenza in history ravaged the world and decimated the populations around the world. Present during World War I, the 1918 strain of pandemic influenza found many opportunities to spread through the war. At the time, science wasn’t advanced enough to study the virus, much less find a cure; medical personnel were helpless when it came to fighting the disease, and so the flu went on to infect millions and kill at a rate 25 times higher than the standard.
...influenza pandemic in one way or another; the use of quarantines were extremely prevalent among them. Also, the pandemic is directly responsible for the creation of many health organizations across the globe. The organizations help track and research illnesses across the globe. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for example, strive to prevent epidemics and pandemics. They also provide a governing body with directives to follow in case an outbreak does occur, and if one shall occur the efforts of organizations across the globe will be crucial for its containment. It is amazing that with modern medicine and proper organization that influenza still manages to make its appearance across the globe annually.
The Great War rages on. An influenza epidemic claims the lives of several Americans. But, the Boston Red Sox have done it again. Last night, in a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park (thanks to Carl Mays' three-hitter), the Boston Red Sox won their fifth World Series championship--amid death and disease, a reason to live ... Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox. If I die today, at least I lived to see the Sox win the championship. For, it could be a long, long, time before this happens again.
Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like influenza are very contagious, they can spread easily from hcw to Patient and back to hcw. The most efficient and effective method of preventing influenza infection is vaccination(The best way to prevent influenza is with annual vaccination).(Sullivan,2010) (Gregory,Tosh &Jacobson, 2005). Motivated by a desire to actively avoid illness Influenza may increase the risk for death in people with existing heart, lung, or circulation disorders. In fact, the higher than average number of winter deaths in people with heart disease may be due only to the occurrence of influenza during those months.Vaccination provides immunity to fight against infection.To increase resistance to harm by modifying the environment to minimize preventable illness (NEED TO CHANGE WORDING)
Heymann, D. (2004). Control of Communicable Diseases Manual.18th edition. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
“Seasonal Influenza-Associated Hospitalization in the United States.” USA.gov, 24 June 2011. Web. 31 Jan. 2012
A few years before 1918, in the height of the First World War, a calamity occurred that stripped the globe of at least 50 million lives. (Taubenberger, 1918) This calamity was not the death toll of the war; albeit, some individuals may argue the globalization associated with the First World War perpetuated the persistence of this calamity. This calamity was referred to the Spanish Flu of 1918, but calling this devastating pestilence the “Spanish Flu” may be a historical inaccuracy, as research and historians suggest that the likelihood of this disease originating in Spain seams greatly improbable. Despite it’s misnomer, the Spanish Flu, or its virus name H1N1, still swept across the globe passing from human to human by exhaled drops of water that contained a deadly strand of RNA wrapped with a protein casing. Individuals who were unfortunate enough to come in contact with the contents of the protein casing generally developed severe respiratory inflammation, as the Immune system’s own response towards the infected lung cells would destroy much of the lungs, thus causing the lungs to flood with fluids. Due to this flooding, pneumonia was a common cause of death for those infected with Spanish Flu. Due its genetic similarity with Avian Flu, the Spanish Flu is thought to be descended from Avian Flu which is commonly known as “Bird Flu.” (Billings,1997) The Spanish Flu of 1918 has had a larger impact in terms of global significance than any other disease has had because it was the most deadly, easily transmitted across the entire globe, and occurred in an ideal time period for a disease to happen.
The severity of this occurrence of influenza is most evident with our young folk who have become quite susceptible to this recent "epidemic." Yet, people of all ages, genders and social standings are prone to the illness. No one is safe, unlike the initial reports produced by the Board of Health, which suggested that Americans were impervious to the "Spanish influenza."
Influenza viruses are constantly evolving due to the mechanism of antigenic drift. This results in seasonal vaccination to target only specific strains, which puts us in a race against the clock in the prevention of the next pandemic. One key to solving this is the development of a universal influenza vaccine, which would elicit a broad antibody response. This would target either multiple strains or strains from the past, present, and future in a single vaccination. As vaccine may target sites such as the neuraminidase (NA) or the M2 Ion channel, hemagglutinin (HA) is preferred by most approaches due to the consensus amino acids found throughout the different subtype, specifically the stem region (3). However, there are boundaries to the stem approach, such as, that some antibodies have reduced affinity for the stem region (1).
If a unique virus similar to the one that caused the Spanish pandemic flu were to emerge today it could be catastrophic. It is estimated that a virus of that magnitude would cause up to 1.9 million casualties.2 In this modern age with travel by air, we might expect global spread to proceed rapidly and to be difficult to control, but hardly much more so than the 1918 pandemic, in which most of the world was affected by W2 [Wave 2] within a matter of a few
According to the World Health Organisation(WHO) Influenza is a viral infection that usually attacks the upper respiratory tract that leads to severe illnesses and in some cases, it can lead to life threatening complications. Influenza can be easily spread via contact person to person through the air by water droplets; such sneezing or coughing. the symptoms of influenza are; headaches, fever, muscle pain/weakness, tiredness, dry coughs, sore throats, loss of appetite, possible chest pain and stuffy/ runny nose. Although influenza is the most common viral infection and highly contagious, it can be easily treated within 1-2 weeks. There are certain people that can develop a higher risk of complications including; aboriginals, pregnant
The influenza infection has a long history of having devastating effects on people worldwide but with the discovery and use of the influenza vaccine the fatally of the influenza infection decreased. The cause of the influenza infection is a virus. The virus enters the body via droplets coughed or sneezed and inhaled by a host (Bostock-Cox, 2013). Because the virus spreads via droplets it is very easily transmitted from person to person, which can lead to epidemics and even pandemics. In addition, the influenza virus is capable of mutating. The World Health Organization is responsible for tracking influenza virus changes and outbreaks around the world (Bostock-Cox, 2013). When referring to outbreaks in influenza infection the term epidemic is