INFLUENZA OVERVIEW

Influenza, or flu, is a respiratory infection caused by a variety of flu viruses. The most familiar aspect of the flu is the way it can knock you off your feet as it sweeps through entire communities the most common and characteristic symptoms of influenza in humans are fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and fatigue. A cold or the stomach flu are very different from a flu. Influenza can be far more severe than the common cold and can even lead to death. Influenza and the common cold are caused by very different viruses.  Flu rapidly spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics, killing millions of people in pandemic years and hundreds of thousands in non epidemic years. It creates health care costs and lost productivity.

TYPES OF FLU VIRUSES

Type A – Most common and usually causes most serious epidemics.
Type B – Can cause epidemics, generally is milder than type A.
Type C – Viruses, never have been connected with a large epidemic.

Symptoms

Body aches – Chills – Dry cough – Fever –Headache – Sore throat – Stuffy nose

If you get infected by the flu virus, you will usually feel symptoms 1 to 4 days later. You can spread the flu to others before your symptoms start and for another 3 to 4 days after your symptoms appear. The symptoms start very quickly and may include

Pandemic Flu

An influenza pandemic is a global outbreak of a new influenza A virus. Pandemics happen when new (novel) influenza A viruses emerge which are able to infect people easily and spread from person to person in an efficient and sustained way and spread globally. It is estimated that annually – 36,000 people in the United States die from complications related to seasonal flu. The Federal government (CDC) has stated that it is not a matter of IF it will happen, but WHEN it will happen.  We could be facing another pandemic of epic proportions similar to our recent past.

Pandemic History

Pandemic Historic Timeline – List of more epidemics Click Here 

1889–1890 “ASIATIC FLU” or “RUSSIAN FLU “  A deadly influenza pandemic that killed about 1 million people worldwide.

1918 SPANISH FLU – Also known as la grippe, La Gripe Española, or La Pesadilla, was an unusually severe and deadly strain of avian influenza, a viral infectious disease. It infected 500 million people around the world, including people on remote Pacific islands and in the Arctic. Probably 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million three to five percent of Earth’s population at the time died, making it one of the deadliest epidemics in human history.

1956 ASIAN FLU– Pandemic outbreak of influenza A virus originated in China in early 1956, and lasted until 1958. Some authors believe it originated from a mutation in wild ducks combining with a pre-existing human strain. The death toll in the US was about 69,800. Estimates of worldwide deaths caused by this pandemic varies widely depending on source, ranging from one to four million, with WHO settling on “about two million”.

1968 HONG KONG FLU – The Hong Kong Flu was a category 2 flu pandemic caused by a strain of H3N2 descended from H2N2 by antigenic shift, in which genes from multiple subtypes reassorted to form a new virus. This pandemic of 1968 and 1969 killed an estimated one million people worldwide. The pandemic infected an estimated 500,000 Hong Kong residents, 15% of the population, with a low death rate. In the United States, about 33,800 people died.

1977–1978 Russian Flu This epidemic infected mostly children and young adults under 23; because a similar strain was prevalent in 1947–57, most adults had substantial immunity. Because of a striking similarity in the viral RNA of both strains – one which is unlikely to appear in nature due to antigenic drift – it was speculated that the later outbreak was due to a laboratory incident in Russia or Northern China, though this was denied by scientists in those countries.The virus was included in the 1978–1979 influenza vaccine.

2009 swH1N1 (Swine Flu) The virus appeared to be a new strain of H1N1 which resulted when a previous triple reassortment of bird, swine and human flu viruses further combined with a Eurasian pig flu virus, leading to the term “Swine Flu”. It is estimated that 11-21% of the global population contracted the illness, and 151,000-575,000 died. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. The 2009 Flu Outbreak, sometimes called the Swine Flu, is a spread of a new strain of influenza virus that was clinically identified in April 2009. The new virus strain is a type of influenza A (H1N1) virus. The outbreak has also been called the H1N1 influenza, 2009 H1N1 Flu, Mexican Flu, or Swine-Origin Influenza. Symptoms – Headache, body aches, and fatigue; fever of 100 or more degrees, chills, sore throat, cough. Also, diarrhea and vomiting might be present.

 

The Covid-19 or Coronavirus Pandemic

2019 – Current – COVID 19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The outbreak was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March.  As of 22 September 2021, The total confirmed cases of Covid-19 have reached over 229,628,000 with more than 4,710,000 deaths reported worldwide.

The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact, most often via small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, and talking. The droplets usually fall to the ground or onto surfaces rather than travelling through air over long distances. Transmission may also occur through smaller droplets that are able to stay suspended in the air for longer periods of time. Less commonly, people may become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face. It is most contagious during the first three days after the onset of symptoms, although spread is possible before symptoms appear, and from people who do not show symptoms.

Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, and loss of sense of smell. Complications may include pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. The Incubation period time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days but may range from two to fourteen days. There is no known vaccine or specific antiviral treatment. Primary treatment is Symptomatic treatment, symptomatic and supportive therapy. 

Recommended preventive measures include hand washing, covering one’s mouth when coughing, maintaining distance from other people, wearing a face mask in public settings, disinfecting surfaces, increasing ventilation and air filtration indoors, and monitoring and self-isolation for people who suspect they are infected. Authorities worldwide have responded by implementing travel restrictions, lockdowns, Workplace hazard controls for COVID-19 workplace hazard controls, and facility closures. Many places have also worked to increase testing capacity and trace contacts of infected persons.

The pandemic has caused global Social_impact of the COVID-19 pandemic social and economic disruption, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression and global famines affecting 265 million people. It has led to the postponement or cancellation of sporting, religious, political, and cultural events, widespread supply shortages exacerbated by Panic_buying, and decreased emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. Schools, universities, and colleges have been closed either on a nationwide or local basis in 161 countries, affecting approximately 98.6 percent of the world’s student population. Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Misinformation about the virus has circulated through social media and mass media. There have been incidents of xenophobia and discrimination against Chinese people and against those perceived as being Chinese or as being from areas with high infection rates.