Influenza, Avian Influenza, and the Impacts of Past and Looming Pandemics

No matter the technical, or medical advances that evolved over the years, nevertheless if an outbreak as powerful as the Influenza was to occur again in the United States it would still be just as bad as the first epidemic. With the first epidemic being massive enough to take out an estimate of fifty to an hundred thousand people in the matter of months, compared to the other epidemics that were just as harmful, but fatalities were not as high as the Influenza. Being aware of this

"The 1918 has gone: a year momentous as the termination of the most cruel war in the annals of the human race; a year which marked, the end at least for a time, of man's destruction of man; unfortunately a year in which developed a most fatal infectious disease causing the death of hundreds of thousands of human beings. Medical science for four and one-half years devoted itself to putting men on the firing line and keeping them there. Now it must turn with its whole might to combating the greatest enemy of all--infectious disease (Billings, 2005)." The influenza in 1919 was much bigger than a cold. In the two years that this disease swept the world one fifth of the population was infected. The flu was most deadly for people ages 20 to 40. This pattern of death was unusual for influenza which usually killed the elderly and young children. It infected 28% of all Americans. An estimated 675,000 Americans died of influenza during this pandemic, about ten times as many as in World War 1. Of the U.S. soldiers who died in Europe, half of them were killed by the influenza virus and not to the enemy. An estimated 43,000 soldiers who were sent for WWI died of influenza. The worldwide influenza epidemic adversely affected the U.S., both in the states and the soldiers at war. Subsequently, in the lack of medicine, lack of skilled doctors, and the lack of soldier preparation.

The seasonal influenza vaccine has been in existence for a numerous amount of decades, therefore so has the gradual implementation of the vaccination. Through recent studies, the break through knowledge of the importance of enforcing the requirement of this vaccine for children has acquired increasing acceptance statistics. During the many outbreaks of different classified strands of avian influenza, the health care community has been unable to retain the virus and alleviate patients efficiently. However current tallies have shown that the system for controlling these outbreaks have improved lowering the mortality rate profoundly. (BioScience Trends, 2013).

The influenza pandemic of 1918-19 still reigns as one of the most catastrophic pandemics of all time. World War One occurred shortly before the influenza pandemic, which left us with 16 million less people. Months later, this epidemic spread like wild fire which estimated a loss of 50 million people. Within the United States, 25% of people were victims of this epidemic and the average life expectancy drastically dropped by twelve years.

Once there was a virus named Birdie. This virus was a Bird Flu, or Avian Influenza, virus of the subtype H5N1, the first strain of Avian Influenza having the ability to infect humans (Normandin and Solan). Birdie looked like a microscopic pomander, a fragrant orange with cloves stuck in it. Inside, she had eight pieces of single stranded ribonucleic acid or ssRNA. Birdie was deadly to humans, but was not able to spread from one human to another. She could only spread from birds to humans ("Bird Flu"). Birdie started out inside a chicken named Cluck, where she was formed. A little while later, Cluck's farmer Mark, sold his Cluck, to Joe, another poultry farmer because Mark did not realize that Cluck had H5N1. After a few months of Cluck living

Influenza is caused by an RNA virus from the Orthomyxoviridae family (that consists of the genera influenza A, B, and C). Human influenza A and B viruses cause seasonal epidemics almost each winter within the United States. Influenza type B infects humans only, therefore it is unable of undergoing a mutation. Pandemics are caused solely by influenza A strains. The emergence of a new and completely different influenza virus to infect people will cause an influenza pandemic. Influenza kind C infections cause a mild respiratory illness and aren't thought to cause epidemics (Duncan, 2013).

The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 is still being discussed. In the public health sector it is used as an example of the viruses potential power, if we do not continue to prepare, educate the public and vaccinate on a global scale. Let’s think back to that time were science and technology was not as advanced. Quarantine and isolation measures meant little to no travel, remaining home and less time spent in the public, “diagnosing influenza became even more difficult because an especially virulent form of the disease had erupted” (Untied States Department of Health and Human Services, 2015).

For lack of better words “Influenza is a nasty little bugger”, it can make you sick for up to a week and it leaves its victim lying in bed until their better; but nowadays we can get a simple vaccine to keep this pest at bay, but back in the day it wasn't this simple. Influenza spreads very fast, that hasn't changed, but how we deal with it has. When influenza was first a major problem spreading from an Asian to a European environment it had many opportunities to continue spreading, and it did. This was because of the many trade routes in the areas, and the growing population in both areas. Influenza continued its expansion by making the host cough and sneeze spreading it through the air. Influenza was not a unique pandemic, but many others

Influenza strikes this country in pandemic proportions every year. Although there are many factors contributing to morbidity and mortality, the mortality rate varies from year to year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the thirty year range from 1976 to 2006, saw death rates from a low of 3000 to a high of 49000 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). So far this season, there have been 3697 deaths from influenza related illness (CDC, 2016). In 2009, the virulent H1N1 strain, with a 20% risk of death, also brought the difficulties of lack of research based clinical evidence for treatments (Cook, et al., 2010). The lack of research conducted during pandemics stems from the delay caused by the often

Many now ignore the fact diseases can still affect us, even though currently since so many people travel it causes us to be more susceptible than ever. Countries trade now more than ever, causing the chance for diseases to spread faster than ever. Since an epidemic might be around the next bend, we need to start putting a plan into place so we can be ready when the next epidemic comes.A big worry of Tyler Kokjohn and Cooper Kimbal, the next epidemic will again be just like that common flu that we experience every year. The worry is that the response time will not be quick enough because people will just suspect that it is the yearly flu. A part that goes into saving lives is how health organizations respond, in order to prevent deaths they need to respond both quickly and effectively to information that they receive about possible small outbreaks of the disease (Kokjohn). Professionals have concerns regarding slow response times to epidemic outbreaks. Kokjohn says, “Unfortunately, influenza surveillance is an especially weak link in the chain of public-health protection. Exactly where, when, and (most important) how quickly and reliably the emergence of a new flu virus with pandemic potential is recognized will determine whether a vaccine can be produced before the virus spreads across the world. People and products now traverse the planet with ease, meaning that a future flu pandemic may engulf the world with

Scary movies are great because they push boundaries of the believable while sitting on the threshold of our most deep set fears. Where movies such as The Exorcist or The Blair Witch Project have shock value, they also lack depth. Where are the elements that bring these stories their credibility/believability? Some of the best horror movies of all time were science fiction stories that left the audience feeling this could actually happen in their daily lives. Who honestly believes that a ghost is going to come haunt you and your family? What about a widespread disease that is killing off everyone you know, in weeks, that is spread through touch? Schools shut down, the government tries to take over while rebellion among

Influenza virus has caused serious respiratory illness and death over the past centuries. Epidemics and pandemics due to Influenza virus were known to cause morbidity and mortality in humans and other animals. Pandemics have been documented since the 16th century (WHO, 2005) and in the last 400 years, at least 31 pandemics have been recorded (Lazzari and Stohr, 2004). Influenza virus belongs to the family Orthomyxoviridae, which is characterized by a segmented, minus-stranded RNA genome. Influenza viruses are irregular, spherical (80-120 nm diameter) or filamentous structures and their surfaces are studded with rod-shaped hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) spikes (Betts, 1995). Influenza viruses are of three types A, B, and C. The typing

Introduction: In a recent briefing given by the National Chicken Council (NCC) the crisis of Avian Influenza (AI) was the main topic. The rapidly spreading disease has spread from Iowa and Minnesota to several different states within all the fly ways other than the Atlantic. The closest reported case of AI is in Mississippi. There is a possibility that AI could be in wild water fowl and be closer to Georgia than recorded. AI is causing a large number of layer producers to dispose of entire flocks, which can range from two to five million birds. With this significant loss in layer hens, the price of eggs is rapidly increasing across the United States. Georgia’s ninth district produces more broilers than any other part of the world. These hatcheries and growing

The most widely quoted date for the beginning of recorded history of avian influenza (initially known as fowl plague) was in 1878 when it was differentiated from other diseases that caused high mortality rates in birds. Fowl plague, however, also included Newcastle disease until as recently as the 1950s. Between 1959 and 1995, there were 15 recorded occasions of the emergence of HPAI viruses in poultry, but losses were minimal. Between 1996 and 2008 however, HPAI outbreaks in poultry have occurred at least 11 times and 4 of these outbreaks have involved millions of birds (Alexander and brown, 2009). In the 1990s, the world’s poultry population grew 76% in developing countries and 23% in developed countries, contributing to the increased prevalence

Scientists with the ARS have also classified avian flu strains into categories based on pathogenicity. “The strain that is currently a problem from Southeast Asia is H5N1 HPAI” (ARS 2015). Worldwide, two strains have been notable for their ability to mutate quickly: H5N1 and H7N9 (NHS 2015). No reliable vaccine exists against avian flu and as with all flus, vaccines must be carefully matched to the target strain. Specific vaccines are needed for each unique strain of the flu; no common vaccine that works for all strains of avian flu is in existence (Skwarecki 2014). Even the less mutable, garden variety flu requires a slightly different vaccine every year and this is only guesswork; some years the vaccine is poorly matched to the actual seasonal outbreak of the flu (Skwarecki 2014). This difficulty of matching a vaccine to a specific strain of the flu raises further concerns about a global avian flu