Influenza better known as the "flu" affects millions of people in the United States every year from fall to winter. Influenza is a common contagious virus which comes in influenza virus type A, B and C. They are single-stranded RNA viruses in the family Orthomyxovirus. Influenza type A virus cause severe symptoms and is associated with pandemics and severe disease and more localized outbreaks. Influenza type C virus usually does not cause epidemics or significant disease. (Engelkirk, Tenth Edition, p. 344) A contagious disease is one which spreads easily in the community from one person to another. Example imagine being at the grocery store and someone with influenza coughs or sneezes, you may develop influenza due to it being an airborne transmissible disease by inhaling droplets without even being aware. …show more content…
As explained earlier influenza can be easily spread. One of the greatest things you can do in order to prevent the spread of the virus is frequent hand washing. Another big prevention, one which is widely debated, is to get the influenza vaccination yearly. Other good prevention tips are to cover your cough and/or sneezes, avoid close contact with others if you suspect you may have the flu, avoid touching your mouth and nose or rubbing your eyes, clean and disinfect regularly if you or anyone close to you has common signs of the flu, and maintain a healthy nutritional diet along with hydration to keep your immune system capable of protection against the viruses, (Preventing the Flu,
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)
Influenza season starts in October and can last until May. It is estimated that 36,000 people die each year from the flu. The best thing that you can do to protect yourself from the flu is to get the vaccine. It is best to get your vaccine before flu season begins. However, the vaccine will still be effective even if you get it as late as January.
The influenza virus is most commonly spread from person to person by coughing or sneezing. The virus can also be spread by touching an object that was recently contaminated. Then accidently touching their mouth or
Throughout 1918 and 1919, influenza spread quickly in three waves killing an estimated 50 million to 100 million people worldwide. With the best-recorded first case having occurred in Fort Riley, the contagious flu spread across military camps around the United States. Due to the world war, the influenza virus was brought over to Europe where it infected people in nearly every country. This disease would end up causing one of the greatest pandemics in human history, but would also catalyze great advancements in science and medicine.
Influenza is a major public health problem which has outbreaks all over the world. Resulting in considerable sickness and death rates. Furthermore, it is a highly infectious airborne disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is transmitted easily from one person to another person, which has a great impact on society. When a member of society becomes sick, it is more prone to spread to other people.
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)
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between twenty and forty million people. (1) Influenza is a virus that appeared in 1918 and caused a pandemic. It made an enormous impact that is still significant to the world today. It has pushed scientists to make advancements in the medicine and vaccination industry that continue to grow each and every day. Influenza may be a horrible thing, but without it we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Medical officials agree that one of the characteristic features of the influenza is its air-born infectivity. "One case to-day may mean a hundred to-morrow and thousands within a week," according to the chief medical officer of the Local Government Board. To protect oneself against the infectious illness that can spread without direct contact with the sick, it is recommended that people situate themselves in well-ventilated rooms. However, once you have contracted the disease, you are to quarantine yourself in an isolated home.5 Other symptoms of influenza include extreme exhaustion, aching limbs, headaches and sometimes, inflammation of nasal mucous membranes.6
Influenza or flu is caused by RNA viruses of the family orthomyxoviridae, that affects the nose, throat, and lungs- the respiratory system. The common symptoms are: fever and respiratory problems, such as cough, sore throat,stuffy nose, as well as headaches and muscle aches. Influenza viruses are spread mainly by droplets made from people coughing, sneezing or talking while having the flu. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people or can inhaled into the lungs. It is least common for the virus to spread by touching an infected surface then their mouth or nose. Flu viruses are divided into 3 categories, A, B, C. A and B are responsible for problems in the respiratory system that typically occurs during the winter. Influenza types C is quite different from A and B. Type C only cause mild respiratory symptom or none at all.
Four years ago the good citizens of this city voted to allow city funds to be allocated toward a new civic center located in the heart of Irvine. Four years ago the good citizens of this great city had no idea that a terrible pandemic would threaten their very lives and the lives of their loved ones. When signs of the flu season came around in late October this year, no one would have imaged that a disease, often with symptoms like a common cold, would have by the end of the year killed almost half of those killed in the Great War itself. Places all across the nation have had to deal with the sick and dying and Irvine is no exception.
Despite the origin of this influenza, our country's health is of the utmost concern because it is definitely worse than the "common cold," yet not as severe as other illnesses such as pneumonia and pleurisy. Influenza is characterized by rapid onset; an individual can be struck severely ill in the matter of a day if not hours. As well, this strain of influenza is distinguished by a high fever, reaching as high 104 degrees Fahrenheit. A victim will also typically experience headache, selective abdominal problems, as well as many other symptoms. Basically, this is not an illness that one would choose to contract.
The swine influenza or swine flu is a respiratory disease in pigs that is caused by the type A influenza viruses. These viruses are referred to as swine flu viruses but scientifically the main virus is called the swine triple reassortant (tr) H1N1 influenza virus. When the viruses infect humans they are called variant viruses. This infection has been caused in humans mainly by the H1N1v virus in the United States. The H1N1 virus originates in animals due to improper conditions and the food they ingest. The virus stays in latency form, thus harmless to the respective animal. The longer the animals survive the more likely the virus is to develop and strengthen making it immune to vaccines. The virus reproduced through the lytic cycle. The virus injects its own nucleic acids into a host cell and then they form a circle in the center of the cell. Rather than copying its own nucleic acids, the cell will copy the viral acids. The copies of viral acids then organize themselves as viruses inside of the cell. The membrane will eventually split leaving the viruses free to infect other cells.
The Flu was first founded in Seattle September, 1918. The avian flu can also be known as the “Bird Flu”. The bird flu is being passed around by migratory birds. It can be transmitted from birds to mammals and in some limited circumstances to humans. The flu will also be known as the H5N1 virus. The H5N1 virus has raised concerns about a potential human pandemic because its virulent (deadly; extremely dangerous) and it can evolve like other influenza viruses. As many other viruses and illnesses the flu can be a lot more deadlier. When you get the flu the lungs are severely harmed from infected cells called macrophages and T-cells. The virus can spread way beyond the lungs but generally do not. Many people catch the flu and think they have the common cold because of some of the same symptoms. But actually the flu can be more dangerous if you don’t treat it immediately.
Influenza is a very serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and even fatalities. There are many different strands, infecting people of all ages and originating from different animals, which can be extremely fatal if the right care isn’t provided. Care for flu patients have changes tremendously over the years from once having no vaccine to having a limited amount of vaccines, only for the most prone individuals, to now having yearly vaccines to prevent the most common cases of flu. Doctors have learned just how deadly the flu virus can be which has led to the importance of them educating their patients of the flu virus and explaining the importance of getting the vaccine in order for their bodies to get an immunity of the many flu viruses that many in our country have previously faced. Many in our county in the past have died from the H1N1 virus due to no vaccines, poor precautions, and being uneducated on the virus because it was new, but new vaccines and precautions are being taken in order to prevent pandemics such as the Flu Pandemic of 1918.
In 1918-19 approximately 50 million deaths were a detriment of the Spanish H1N1 virus pandemic; a respiratory virus. According to the World Health Organization, the second Influenza A H1N1 pandemic in 2009 spread to more than 200 countries causing more than 18 000 deaths. Before the World Health Organization had announced the official end of the pandemic in August 2010, in July 2009 the World Health Organization sent out a phase 6 warning that H1N1 could soon be a global pandemic. It is important to recognize that the 2 different outbreaks had different A/H1N1strains effecting the world population; this suggests A/H1N1has a high ability for mutation, severely complicating the human body’s natural immune mechanism of antigenic drift. (Qi-Shi Du et al., 2010)