INFLUENZA

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INFLUENZA

Introduction

One can claim that influenza is an infection that has victimized people from just about every generation that we have known. The term Influenza comes from the Latin word "influentia", first used by the Italians in the 1600's. It is a highly contagious infection particulary of the respiratory tract.In addition to us humans, influenza can occur in pigs, horses, and several other mammals as well as in certain wild and birds. It can also jump from specie to specie as observed in late 1997 when influenza from chickens was having its effects on people in Hong Kong. Because influenza is highly contagious and spreads easily, it has appeared in our history many a times as epidemics. Influenza is caused by an Orthomyxovirus which is spherical in shape and has single stranded RNA. It is an envelpoed virus, therefore it gets greater protection from its environments. There are three types of influenza known to us right now:

Type A - common in 5-19 year olds, epidemics occur most winters

Type B - generally smaller epidemic outbreaks

Type C - rare, but can cause serious health problems

Encounter & Entry

Flu season in temperate regions typically begins with the approach of winter—November in the Northern Hemisphere, April in the Southern Hemisphere. Flu viruses spread more easily during cold weather because people tend to spend more time crowded together in homes and schools, as well as buses, subways, and other places with poor ventilation. An epidemic may be restricted to a town or city or may quickly spread geographically as infected people travel aboard motor vehicles, airplanes, and ships. Influenza is caused by viruses being transmitted from one to another person in the form of droplets coughed or sne...

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...ealthy young adults, the vaccines are 70 to 90 percent effective in preventing the disease. In the elderly and people with certain chronic medical conditions, the vaccines are less effective in preventing illness but help reduce the severity of an infection and the risk of major complications or death. Studies show that flu vaccines reduce hospitalization by about 70 percent and death by about 85 percent among the elderly. Of course, basic common sense things like washing hands several times a day can immensely reduce the risk of coming down with influenza.

References

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/fluinfo.htm

Dr. Carol Eidsvoog

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2001/11/11-06-01tdc/11-06-01dscihealth-column-01.asp

http://www.vcell.de/gesundheitspark/influenza-animation.html

http://webs.wichita.edu/mschneegurt/biol103/lecture14/lecture14.html

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