IDENTIFYING INFLUENZA
Influenza is an infectious and contagious ailment. Influenza is commonly termed as flu and also grippe. Influenza is usually acute. Influenza especially attacks the trachea, an important part of the respiratory tract.
SIMPLE INFLUENZA
A simple influenza bout is accompanied by several symptoms. They can be eye burning, sore throat, dry cough or even discharges from the nose or nasal obstruction. The symptoms disappear and the body temperature resumes the normal level in such simple influenza instances.
ACUTE INFLUENZA SYMPTOMS
The acute symptoms may include gastrointestinal symptoms as well. Some other signs of an acute attack of influenza are joints and muscles aches, headache, fever and chill. If the symptoms are accompanied by pneumonia, viral or bacterial, the situation may be dangerous. One must immediately seek the advice of doctors in such situations.
INFLUENZA PANDEMICS
More than 31 cases of influenza pandemics (widespread epidemics) have been recorded since the 16th century across the globe. Approximately 20 million people died due to an acute form of influenza (bacterial influenza) in 1918. Of this, 500,000 people were in the USA alone. Every year, 95 million instances of influenza are reported in America while 1720 people annually die because of influenza and pneumonia.
TRACING THE INFLUENZA ANNALS
Medical scientists isolated the three influenza causative viruses in the years 1933, 1940, and 1950. They were respectively christened Virus A, Virus B, and Virus C respectively. Viruses A and B have been identified as being responsible for the influenza epidemics. In 1941, a vaccine containing virus was shown to have controlling effects on influenza.
Amantadine hydrochloride: The oral medication, Amantadine hydrochloride, has been found to be quite effective in checking influenza. This influenza is of the type caused by influenza A virus. It also proved to partially successful in treating the after-symptoms of the i! nfluenza A virus. Amantadine is deemed to be an apt treatment for the high-risk patients. It is used as an adjunct to immunization. All in all, immunization is the most effective way to combat influenza.
Hurdles: However, immunization was complicated and it posed problems. The hurdles came from the facts that the different virus types were not genetically related. Therefore, they did not induce cross-immunity. Moreover, that immunity to a single virus remained intact only for a period of just under 12 months. What is more, the viruses periodically mutated. Hence all attempts to stop the virus race from developing proved futile.
Success: To meet the challenges, the medical community created polyvalent vaccines. These are combinations of various vaccines. For instance, the vaccine to tackle type B was produced by combining the vaccines against type-A subtypes as they evolve. This mission needed worldwide surveillance. International medical alert was sounded to detect and, if possible, capture the altered virus forms the moment they are born. This was needed to ensure that a buffer vaccine stock can be built up before the viruses assume pandemic proportions. Taking into consideration the huge financial considerations, such vaccines were administered to only the most vulnerable or prone sections of the population. They were also given to people suffering from acute influenza so that they do not contract pneumonia.
From 1984, the US Centers for Disease Control included medical personnel dealing with such high-risk influenza patients. It also recommended that the vaccines be provided to persons needing them for preventive purposes.
Antigenic cycles: The influenza virus has different antigenic types. They appear in cyclic patterns. It has been found that the influenza virus variant appearing in the early part of the 1950s was identical to the influenza attack that shook the world in 1978-?79. Based on such recurrent proofs, it has been almost established that the influenza pandemics caused by th! e same i nfluenza variant appear in gaps of 60-70 years. Interestingly enough, basing their premise on this theory, in 1918 US health officials prepared for the recurrence of the influenza variant (as a pandemic) that had created chaos in 1976. The influenza virus identified as swine flu did strike! The virus was isolated from Army recruits at Fort Dix in New Jersey. A vaccine was prepared beforehand and the American authorities carried out a mass inoculation. This stopped the disease from assuming the pandemic proportion.
Nilutpal Gogoi is a writer and a freelance journalist having more than 18 years of service in several audio-visual and print media reputed organizations in North East India. He has published more than 1000 articles and a popular adventure book for children. For more information log on to http://www.fithealthonline.com/ http://www.healthylifelearning.com/ http://www.wanthealthylife.com/
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