Antiviral Drug Susceptibility of Influenza Viruses Essay

I have been a nurse for 23 years. I have given a lot of influenza

Every year, millions of people start talking about the influenza virus and getting their vaccines as the flu season approaches, which starts around the October-November period and reaches its peak between December and March. Therefore, public health officials around the world- and in the U.S in particular- are constantly challenged by properly preparing for the annual influenza dilemma, given that this viruses, and other respiratory viruses, are a serious health threat to the U.S population and the world as a whole. Furthermore, what makes the influenza virus even more challenging to control is that it can mutate rapidly and reassort to form new strains, having the ability to reside in multiple animal hosts. In fact, many scientists and researchers have been doing in-depth intensive research so as to understand the mechanism behind this unique characteristic of the virus, try to find new ways to control it, and explore different areas of protection and vaccination.

Seasonal influenza is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the industrialized world. The United States alone averages more than 23,000 influenza-associated deaths annually (Cortes-Penfield, 2014). Everyone is given the option to receive the flu vaccination each year. The vaccine is offered in health care facilities, clinics, and pharmacies around

The Situation/Challenge: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of influenza (flu)-associated deaths in the United States ranges from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000, annually (CDC, 2010). Vulnerable populations—those with a compromised immune system, elderly, very young children, and critically ill—are especially susceptible to the influenza. (Poland, 2005). Pre-exposure vaccination is the most effective method of preventing influenza and influenza-related morbidity and mortality (Poland, 2005). However, flu vaccination is frequently contra-indicated for the vulnerable

Each year 6-20% of U.S. residents are infected by influenza and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized due to complications (Klepser, Corn, Schmidt, Dering-Anderson, & Klepser, 2015). Influenza has a huge impact on not only the health of our nation, but economically, as well. Studies show that the single most effective way to prevent the spread of influenza is to vaccinate. The CDC recommends that all children over 6 months old to be vaccinated against influenza yearly (CDC, n.d.). Seldom have there been medical advancements that have impacted the health of billions of people. One such important medical advancement is the invention of vaccines. At the end of the 20th century, the CDC published its list of

Influenza is not a deadly virus and does have a vaccination. One of the three types of influenza, type C, “type C infections cause a mild respiratory illness and are not thought to cause epidemics” (Types of Influenza Viruses). The other two types of influenza viruses type“ A and B viruses cause seasonal epidemics” and happen mostly when winter hits (Types of Influenza

At the peak of the 2014-2015 Seasonal Influenza Pandemic in the United States, 9.3% of all deaths reported in the 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System were attributed to Pneumonia and Influenza (P&I), underscoring how lethal the flu can be, especially to people who are already sick, children, and the elderly. In the first week of February 2015, over 60% of influenza-associated hospitalizations involved patients 65 and older, the highest rate since the CDC began tracking that data in 2005. Extrapolating that, more than 92,000 people aged 65 and older had been hospitalized

Influenza is responsible for hospitalizations and deaths in the United States. Prevention through vaccination is one way to circumvent illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths. Those persons who were more susceptible fall into the categories of 6 months to 4 years of age and 65 years and older. According to CDC (2013), the 2012-13 influenza season was characterized as a moderately severe season based on the surveillance data. Regardless of suggestions and encouragements of schools and places of employment for individuals to be vaccinated against the flu, fewer than half the persons in the United States each year are inoculated against this disease. Influenza vaccines are now widely used to reduce the burden of annual epidemics of influenza virus infections (Cowling, et al., 2016).

Influenza, an innocent little virus that annually comes and goes, has always been a part of people’s lives. Knowing this, one would not believe that it has caused not one, not two, but three pandemics and is on its way to causing a fourth! The Spanish flu of 1918, the Asian flu of 1957, and the Hong Kong

Seasonal influenza commonly referred to as the “flu” is an acute viral infection caused by the influenza virus that can have possibly devastating effects on a community (“Influenza (Seasonal),” 2014). Seasonal influenza viruses cause annual epidemics that peak during the winter but can begin as early as late fall and last through early spring (“Prevention and Control of Influenza,” 2008). Influenza infections in the US affect a large amount of the US population. On average in the United States 200,000 people are hospitalized due to influenza infections (“Vaccine-Preventable Adult Diseases,” 2016). In addition, the annual death toll in the United States alone related to influenza and its complications is about 20,000 (Fallon, 2013). Though influenza can affect people at any age, the rates of serious illness and death are among the highest in persons aged sixty-five or older (“Prevention and Control of Influenza,” 2008). The disproportionate effect of the influenza infection on older adults calls for public health interventions.

Avian influenza is a disease that has been wreaking havoc on human populations since the 16th century. With the recent outbreak in 1997 of a new H5N1 avian flu subtype, the world has begun preparing for a pandemic by looking upon its past affects. In the 20th Century, the world witnessed three pandemics in the years of 1918, 1957, and 1968. In 1918 no vaccine, antibiotic, or clear recognition of the disease was known. Killing over 40 million in less than a year, the H1N1 strain ingrained a deep and lasting fear of the virus throughout the world. Though 1957 and 1968 brought on milder pandemics, they still killed an estimated 3 million people and presented a new

Infected patients pursue help from their doctors pleading for remedy for their symptom. In turn, doctors had no cure or ways to subdue the patients’ symptoms; thus, it result-ed in getting the doctor themselves falling ill to the influenza. At time, the infected patients felt inflamed and burned with thirst. This resulted the plague victims to plunge themselves in cold water, or throwing themselves in rain tanks to ease the burning sensation . The 1918 influenza produced an unusually high proportion of cases that developed pneumonia, especially in young people. Normally, influenza causes only mild illness in young adults. In 2009 during the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus in the population worldwide suggests that a large portion of the population now have defensive antibodies against the 1918 virus, greatly lessening fear and un-certainties regarding the exposure of the 1918 virus. Nevertheless, study exhibit that this virus could be used not only to understand how to prevent and treat severe influenza virus infections but also to create a biochemical agent

Influenza has been around for thousands of years. It’s a disease that is responsible for the greatest viral outbreak in modern history. The amount of death each year associates with influenza is still among the thousands in fully developed countries. Influenza is a difficult disease to battle due to its high rate of mutation combined with its ability to bounce around different species. There are three type of influenza that are of most concerned when it comes to human’s pathology: Type A, Type B, and Type C. Each of these type contains a numerous amount of individual strain. Some strains can be easily fought off and others can be deadly even to those with the strongest immunity. The most widely use option at preventing another outbreak

In vitro: Out of 355 clinical isolates, 267 isolates could be included in inhibition assay against anti-neuraminidase drugs. Influenza B and A/H1N1 viruses appeared to be more sensitive to zanamivir than to oseltamivir, while A/H1N2 and A/H3N2 viruses were more sensitive to oseltamivir than to zanamivir. Out of 128 N2 carrying isolates, 10 isolates had oseltamivir

Background & Audience Relevance: Influenza is an infection that can affect anyone around the world. Am quite sure almost everyone, if not all of us, have been infected with influenza at some point in our lives.