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Influenza Impact On Society Essay

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Impact of Influenza on Society

Influenza is a virus that infects the upper respiratory system. The common symptoms include but are not limited to: coughing, sneezing, and drowsiness. Influenza is spread by droplets of water or other substances containing the virus landing on another being after an infected person coughs or sneezes. The person who then contracts the disease could take anywhere from 1-4 days to show symptoms. They then could be contagious at any time from the first day to 7 days after they show symptoms. The influenza virus has a major effect on the population of America, often infecting anywhere from 5%–20% of the population of the United States. The “Flu Season” in North America is between the months of November and May, commonly peaking in January and February. …show more content…

Those also majorly at risk are those with an immune system deficiency (medicinal or disease induced). On average there are anywhere from 9,600,000-36,500,000 cases recorded in the US. 14,000,000-24,000,000 million of those cases on average are hospitalized, with an average of 9,000-24,000 patients dead. In the 2013-2014 season, there were a surprisingly low number of flu cases reported, there were only approximately 9,000,000 cases and 4,000,000 hospitalizations with a record low ~9,120 deaths recorded due to Pneumonia and Influenza In the 2015-2016 flu season there were an estimated 24 million cases in America alone, with 19 million of them being hospitalized, and 19 thousand people lost due to P&I; this was an average flu year. Vaccinations have proven to be an average 50% effective with the highest rate being with children from 5-13. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Central Disease Center (CDC) are currently looking, and have found prototypes of vaccines even stronger, but usung a lesser dose of the virus. Due to the unpredictability of these prototypes however, WHO and the CDC have refused to

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