Essay On Influenza

608 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Influenza assignment introduction

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.
According to CDC, no one knows exactly how many people die from the flu infection each year. There are four main reasons for this. First of all, states are not required to report influenza related deaths that are older than the age of 18. Second, se...

Show More
Related

  • The 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic

    2713 Words  | 6 Pages

    The 1918-1919 influenza pandemic stretched its lethal tentacles all over the globe, even to the most remote areas of the planet, killing fifty million people or possibly even more. Influenza killed more people in a year than the Black Death of the Middle Ages killed in a century, and it killed more people in twenty-four weeks than AIDS has killed in twenty-four years.3 Influenza normally kills the elderly and infants, but this deadly and abnormal strand claimed young people, those in their twenties or thirties as its target victims. Such was the case for Jules Bergeret. Jules was a “big, strapping man” who owned a tavern during the epidemic, and on December 11 he celebrated his 32 birthday. Within two weeks Jules, his mother, his sister, and his 25 year old wife all fell victim to the flu, and on December 22 he was dead.4 The virus left victims bleeding out of their nose ears and mouth; some coughing so hard that autopsies would later show that abdominal muscles and rib cartilage had been torn. Victims ...

    Read More

  • Influenza Virus' Economic and Social Disruption to Society

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • Spanish Flu Pandemic In 1918

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    The influenza or flu pandemic of 1918 to 1919, the deadliest in modern history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide–about one-third of the planet’s population at the time–and estimates place the number of victims anywhere from 25 to 100 million. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population became sick, and some 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic. The 1918 flu was first observed in Europe, the U.S. and parts of Asia before swiftly spreading around the world. Surprisingly, many flu victims were young, otherwise healthy adults. At the time, there were no effective drugs or vaccines to treat this killer flu strain or prevent its spread. In the U.S., citizens were ordered to wear masks, and schools, theaters and other public

    Read More

  • The Flu Shot Should Not Be Mandatory

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    --------------------------------------------------------------------- [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

    Read More

  • Influenza: Symptoms, Severity, and Transmission

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    Influenza, or the "flu," is an infection that is caused by the influenza virus. It is a virus that generally infects the olfactory organ, pharynx, and it can sometimes spread to the lungs (2007). Symptoms of influenza can be identified as acute fever, cough, chills, fatigue, body aching and, in young children, ear aches. Unlike the viruses that cause the common cold, the influenza virus can cause severe illnesses like pneumonia, especially in those who are very young or very old, or who have conditions such as cancer, heart disease, bronchial asthma and diabetes. Influenza can be spread by something as simple as an infected individual coughing or sneezing, through little droplets that go up to a meter (3 feet) and land on any nearby individuals

    Read More

  • Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs)

    1930 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since there is no federal law that requires hospitals to report HAI deaths, much of the data in this report is based on the states that have statutes in place that require them to do so. It was estimat...

    Read More

  • The History of the Flu

    1640 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kimball, Dr. John. A.S.A. “Influenza.” 8 Feb. 2007. Kimball’s Biology Page. 23 July 2007 http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/I/Influenza.html>.

    Read More

  • Influenza Vaccination Essay

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Influenza Vaccination Should be Mandatory

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • The Great Influenza

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the fall of 1918 influenza appeared for the first time in pockets across the globe. At first it was pushed aside as a case of the common cold. The influenza of that season, however, was far more than a cold. In the two years that this scourge ravaged the earth, a fifth of the world's population was infected. (1) Including twenty-eight percent of all Americans. In those two years an estimated six hundred and seventy-five thousand Americans died because of influenza. This was the greatest scare Americans had ever seen from a single disease. People between the age of twenty and forty were at the greatest risk of infection. Even President Woodrow Wilson suffered from the flu in early 1919 while negotiating the crucial treaty of Versailles to end the World War. The public health departments distributed gauze masks to be worn in public. Stores could not hold sales; funerals were limited to 15 minutes. Some towns required a signed certificate to enter and railroads would not accept passengers without them. (1) Influenza had killed nearly as many American servicemen as died in battle, ten times and over that number of American civilians, and twice as many people in the world as died in combat on all fronts in the entire four...

    Read More

  • The Importance of the Influenza Vaccine

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Seasonal Influenza-Associated Hospitalization in the United States.” USA.gov, 24 June 2011. Web. 31 Jan. 2012

    Read More

  • Influenza Vaccines Essay

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vaccines save us from being infected with viruses. They save approximately 2.5 million people from death every year. However, while they help save lives, vaccines still have both minor and severe side effects. This can result in nausea, severe sickness, and in rare cases, death. Every year, 3,000 to 4,500 people in the United States are hospitalized due to vaccine side effects. It is extremely important for all communities to be informed about the side effects of vaccines and what causes them. Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that the influenza vaccine is only 48% effective, due to constant mutation of the virus (Scutti, 2017). This means, the influenza vaccine does not work on all

    Read More

  • Influenza Virus Causes

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    Influenza is an acute respiratory illness caused by infection of influenza A and B viruses. The disease can affect both the upper and lower respiratory tract and is often followed by systemic signs and symptoms, such as: sudden onset of fever, chills, non-productive cough, myalgias (muscle pain), headache, nasal congestion, sore throat, and fatigue. (Cox et al.1998). Influenza viruses evolve continuously, challenging mammalian and avian hosts with new variants and causing complex epidemic patterns with regard to age, place, and time. Human influenza viruses cause disease through a variety of direct and indirect pathological effects. The direct effects include destruction of infected cells, damage to respiratory epithelium, and immunological responses that cause general malaise and pneumonia. Indirect effects of infection include secondary bacterial infections due to the tissue damage and other disease such as cardiovascular disease, renal disease, diabetes or chronic pulmonary disease (Schoenbaum S.1996). In the USA, clinical illness affects 5–20% of the population and asymptomatically infects a larger number (Noble G.1982). Infants, who are exposed to influenza epidemics as a novel antigenic challenge after maternal antibodies decline, may have attack rates as high as 30–50% in their first year of life, depending on the frequency of contacts with older siblings (Glezen et al.1997). For reasons, influenza viruses cause epidemics in the northern and southern hemisphere during their respective winters. In the tropics, the timing of activity is less defined, with sometimes year-round circulation or bi-seasonal peaks during the year (Viboud et al.2006).

    Read More

  • The Flu

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Flu is the common name influenza which is a virus that attacks the respiratory system. The flu virus releases its genetic information into the cells nucleus to replicate itself. When the cell dies, those copies are released and they affect other cells throughout the rest of the body. With that happening the virus weakens the immune system. When your sick with the flu, your body builds up a defense by making antibodies against it. The flu virus spreads through air when a person coughs, sneezes, or speaks.

    Read More

  • Essay On Swine Influenza

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Essay On Influenza

Open Document