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Influenza
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Influenza is a major cause of sickness and death around the world and is one of the most important infectious diseases confronting the world today. Combined with pneumonia, influenza is one of the ten leading causes of death in the United States. Even though most of its victims are elderly, pneumonia-influenza is one of the top-ten leading infectious conditions listed as causing years of potential life lost by the Centers for Disease Control. These facts, plus the memory of the great pandemic of 1918-1919, which killed about 550,000 people in the United States and claimed over 20 million lives around the world, have encouraged much research on this viral infection. The origins of virulent strains and the behavior of epidemics are still not well understood... and the unpredictability of emergence of new strains influenza proteins presents serious problems for public health-based control programs throughout the world.
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Influenza is an acute disease with a rapid onset and pronounced symptoms. After the influenza virus invades a person’s body, an incubation period of one to two days passes before symptoms appear. Classic symptoms include sore throat, dry cough, stuffed or runny nose, chills, fever with temperatures as high as 39ºC (103ºF), aching muscles and joints, headache, loss of appetite, occasional nausea and vomiting, and fatigue. For most people flu symptoms begin to subside after two to three days and disappear in seven to ten days. However, coughing and fatigue may persist for two or more weeks.
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Influenza vaccine... known as a flu shot, can help prevent you from getting sick with influenza or from spreading it to others. In British Columbia, the vaccine is available in October or early November. It is best to try to get the influenza vaccine by the end of November to allow your body enough time – about two weeks – to build immunity before the influenza season starts. However, the vaccine can offer protection if given at any time during the season.
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Influenza impacts people of all ages. Common symptoms include a high fever (101ºF-102ºF) that begins suddenly, sore throat, chills, cough, headache and muscle aches. Influenza frequently causes people to miss school and work but in some cases there are severe complications such as pneumonia. Each year, more than 200,000 Americans are hospitalized and about 36,000 die from influenza-related complications.
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Influenza is commonly seen in local outbreaks or epidemics throughout the world. Epidemics may appear at any time but are usually concentrated in months of high humidity. They occur explosively with little or no warning. The number of people affected can vary from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands. Epidemics may be short-lived, lasting days or weeks but larger epidemics may last for months. Although influenza is a mild disease in most individuals, it is life threatening to elderly or debilitated individuals.
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Influenza is often called a respiratory disease, but it affects the whole body. The victim usually becomes acutely ill with fever, chills, weakness, loss of appetite and aching of the head, back, arms and legs. The influenza sufferer may ... have a sore throat and a dry cough, nausea, and burning eyes.
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Influenza