Influenza DBQ

This book titled Flu details the struggle of scientists searching for what in fact caused the 1918 Influenza epidemic and how to prevent another massive Flu outbreak. The 1918 Flu epidemic (also known as the Spanish Flu) which killed twenty to forty million people (about 3%-5% died) from every corner of the world. Unlike most flu strands which kill the extremes of the age spectrum, the flu in 1918 would kill males more than females, the very young, the very old, and surprisingly the healthy adults (between ages twenty to forty). Also, this strand would kill not just the ones living in undeveloped regions of the world, but also developed regions such as the United States where 25% of Americans were infected and 600,000 thousand died. The mortality

Although medicine today is comparatively more advanced, that is a more recent change than one would like to think. For instance, not even 150 years ago, “Hippocrates and Galen would have recognized and largely agreed with most medical practices.” Barry addresses this topic of medical advancement at the beginning of his book by producing a well researched, albeit a little too long, history of western medicine. He provides examples of how medicine evolved from the teachings of Hippocrates, Galen, and Vesalius to a more “modern” form of medicine. This was done in order to explain how prepared the medical community was in the face of this impending virus. Unlike the other epidemics, the people of the early 19-century should have been prepared to face the influenza with all of their exciting and new medical equipment and practices, but there was something in their way of advancement—universities.

Natalie informed members that clarification has been provided where the Prevnar 13 will be given first then Pneumo23 vaccine. This is forthcoming for the next influenza season by Alberta Health in August 2016.

During the course of human history, pandemic diseases have threatened the balance of civilization itself. Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other infectious agents have

The book The Great Influenza by John Barry takes us back to arguably one of the greatest medical disasters in human history, the book focuses on the influenza pandemic which took place in the year 1918. The world was at war in the First World War and with everyone preoccupied with happenings in Europe and winning the war, the influenza pandemic struck when the human race was least ready and most distracted by happenings all over the world. In total the influenza pandemic killed over a hundred million people on a global scale, clearly more than most of the deadliest diseases in modern times. John Barry leaves little to imagination in his book as he gives a vivid description of the influenza pandemic of 1918 and exactly how this pandemic affected the human race. The book clearly outlines the human activities that more or less handed the human race to the influenza on a silver platter. “There was a war on, a war we had to win” (Barry, p.337). An element of focus in the book is the political happenings back at the time not only in the United States of America but also all over the world and how politicians playing politics set the way for perhaps the greatest pandemic in human history to massacre millions of people. The book also takes an evaluator look at the available medical installations and technological proficiencies and how the influenza pandemic has affected medicine all over the world.

The Spanish influenza, also known as La Grippe, Spanish Lady, three day fever, purulent bronchitis, sand-fly fever and Blitz Katarrh (The 1918 Influenza Pandemic) was a global disaster which occurred between March of 1918 and the spring season of 1919 (The 1918 Influenza Pandemic). This virus was more catastrophic even than the First World War which was occurring at the same time the influenza broke out, killing more people than the Great War itself (The 1918 Influenza Pandemic). The virus killed more people in one year than in the four years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague (The 1918 Influenza Pandemic). Many questions about the flu’s origin and its nature remain largely mysterious to epidemiologists and scientists alike. (1918 Influenza:

The Great War helped create the influenza pandemic of 1918, and due to the close quarter's nature of military service and trench warfare that helped the virus spread. Army recruits in World War One were brought together from a wide range of backgrounds to live in close proximity in army camps, barracks, troop-ships and trench dugouts. This along with the horrible conditions and the infestation of rats made it very easy for disease to spread. Soon, the war was

One of the most virulent strains of influenza in history ravaged the world and decimated the populations around the world. Present during World War I, the 1918 strain of pandemic influenza found many opportunities to spread through the war. At the time, science wasn’t advanced enough to study the virus, much less find a cure; medical personnel were helpless when it came to fighting the disease, and so the flu went on to infect millions and kill at a rate 25 times higher than the standard.

Scientists’ studies have led to a greater understanding of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Through conducting tests on the remains of victims, as well as consulting morgues, and numerous accounts of that time period, scientists have finally come up with a theory and solution for influenza.

The H3N2 Hong Kong Flu or “Avian Flu” of 1968 and the H1N1 “Russian Flu” of 1977 also appeared to begin at an unknown location somewhere in China. In both cases, the outbreaks spread quickly and consistently to go on and affect India, Iran, Australia, North America, and Russia. Between both instances of these pandemics, roughly sixty thousand deaths were recorded.

The influenza virus contains 8 pieces of RNA inside the cell envelope whereas the human cell also known as the host cell contains DNA. The influenza virus contains proteins known as H-protein, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Hemagglutinin binds onto sialic acid which can be found outside the human cell, this allows the influenza virus to enter the host cell. The RNA segment inside the virus cell is released and enters the nucleus. The RNA starts to replicate in the nucleus of the host cell. Each piece of the virus have to be transcribed into mRNA strands before it will be translated into proteins and form new viruses. The new viruses then exit the host cell by the neuraminidase which cleaves the sialic acid sugar in the membrane, releasing

The odds of detecting, controlling, and perhaps preventing the spread of an influenza virus with pandemic potential have improved dramatically since 1918, and they continue to increase with expanding knowledge of influenza viruses and the threat they present to human and animal health. Today, international programs permit the characterization of thousands of viral isolates each year and support worldwide surveillance and communications networks. These efforts are informed by research on viral molecular biology and evolution, and bolstered by simultaneous preparations against the threat of bioterrorism. Yet major challenges to pandemic preparedness remain to be overcome. The world's growing—and increasingly urbanized—population and the speed

In 1976, due to an outbreak of influenza at Fort Dix, New Jersey, the United States set a precedent in immunology by attempting to vaccinate the entire population of the country against the possibility of a swine-type Influenza A epidemic. While a great many people were successfully immunized in a very short period of time, the National Influenza Immunization Program (NIIP) quickly became recognized as a failure, one reason being that the feared epidemic never surfaced at all. But this massive undertaking deserves more analysis than just a simple repudiation. For example, all evidence linked to the pathology, microbiology, and historical cycle of influenza and the outbreak at Fort Dix suggests that the reactions of the scientists and other

In my Duke Tip camp, I learned what a virus is, how it looks, how it spreads, and how we prevent it. Mainly, I learned about a specific virus: the influenza virus, also called the flu. For example, the Spanish flu in 1918 was an H1N1 virus, just like the swine flu in 2009. The students in my class understood that airports and planes are one of the main causes of a pandemic. Pandemics occur when viruses destroy humans worldwide. Highly populated viruses in countries, states, regions, and cities are classified as epidemics. Most epidemics form into pandemics. You can stop airborne viruses by sneezing into your elbow and then immediately washing it. With this knowledge we, as students were given, I hope to shape my future.The Influenza virus,

In 1918-19 approximately 50 million deaths were a detriment of the Spanish H1N1 virus pandemic; a respiratory virus. According to the World Health Organization, the second Influenza A H1N1 pandemic in 2009 spread to more than 200 countries causing more than 18 000 deaths. Before the World Health Organization had announced the official end of the pandemic in August 2010, in July 2009 the World Health Organization sent out a phase 6 warning that H1N1 could soon be a global pandemic. It is important to recognize that the 2 different outbreaks had different A/H1N1strains effecting the world population; this suggests A/H1N1has a high ability for mutation, severely complicating the human body’s natural immune mechanism of