Influenza In Pandemics

Missing Histories: WWI and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic As the horrendous experiences of the First World War began to wind down, a new terror emerged in the form of the Spanish Influenza that circumnavigated the world, not once but twice within a two-year period. While the general public commonly remembered experiences of the war in literature, art, prose and memorials, those of the 1918 pandemic were not. Research completed by this author on the subject of German bias during the First World War found little mention of the influenza pandemic in The Burlington Hawk-Eye, the state?s longest continually operating newspaper, published in Burlington, Iowa. However, the Burlington Public Library Board, in its meeting minutes, recommended the

THE GREAT INFLUENZA 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

heartbreak left behind in their wakes. In addition, the paper discusses avian influenza and addresses the current threat of a bird flu pandemic. 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

The Worldwide Influenza Epidemic in the U.S. "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.

Is it Worth the Shot? I am a living thing and I need you in order to survive. I am invisible. I move silently, floating through the air or laying patiently to plunge my next victim. I’m sure I have knocked you off your feet several times. I am the

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

*Young children under 5, and especially those under 2 years. *Adults older than 65 *Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. *Pregnant women and women up to two weeks postpartum *People with weakened immune system *People who are very obese, with a body mass index of 40 or higher RISK FACTORS Factors that may increase Children and people with weakened immune systems may be contagious for a slightly longer time.

citizen avoided another, hardly any neighbour troubled about others, relatives never or hardly ever visited each other. Moreover, such terror was struck into the hearts of men and women by this calamity, that brother abandoned brother, and the uncle his nephew, and the sister her brother, and very often the wife her husband. What is even worse and nearly incredible is that fathers and mothers refused to see and tend their children, as if they had not been theirs.” So many people did not know what the plague was and it made people very afraid. Agnolo di Tura del Grasso produced a chronicle of events from 1300 to 1351 with his experiences with the plague. “And I, Agnolo di Tura, called the Fat, buried my five children with my own hands. And there

‘A time comes in the life of the most wretched when they do realize their mistakes and tries penance in their own way. Once I been attacked by influenza and having a high temperature, the animal instincts of my step father forced himself on me, right before my mother. I pleaded with my folded hands to let me be spared, I requested my mother to help me in relieving from the predator as my condition doesn’t permit to be his partner. My mother asked my step father to free me, when the words of my mother didn’t move him, she brought out a sword and to intimidate him flashed in the air, but the tip of the sword cuts off the veins of his neck and he fell down on me, killing him instantly, the blood oozing out profusely, drenched me fully. Horror

When you get the flu, do you know what kind and how deadly it is? There are actually

Influenza a running rampant through the hospital and I am not a fan of having to wear a gown, mask and gloves. It feels like such a barrier when communicating with the patients. I just cringe whenever I see the droplet precautions on the patient’s chart. I really cannot wait for this flu season to pass, especially since we lost a 10-year-old to the flu today. It is always sad when someone dies, but there is such a noticeable effect throughout the entire hospital when a child passes away. On the other hand, it is in these moments you really get to witness the tight bond between the staff members. The other social workers offered a lot of support to the social worker directly involved and the chaplains, doctors, and nurses really rally

Hello Sherri, influenza was one of my clinical diagnoses based on the patient’s clinical symptoms of fever, fatigue and body ache. Influenza is an acute viral respiratory illness that impact the health of many individuals, families, and communities. Influenza viruses belong to the Orthomyxoviridae family and are enveloped, segmented, single-strand

Forecasting the Spread of Influenza The influenza virus has three types: A, B, and C. Seasonal influenza epidemics are typically caused by types A and B, while type C regularly has mild symptoms. Scientists have studied previous years of influenza epidemics and are able to predict the yearly flu season for the United States. In the United States, flu season tends to peak during the winter months. In other climates, such as tropical and subtropical, flu seasons can vary making them harder to predict. Hong Kong has a subtropical climate and commonly has two flu seasons, one from January through March and another from July through August. In addition to these two common flu seasons, Hong Kong can experience flu epidemics at erratic times during

The H1N1 Influenza Virus A virus is “snippet of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA” (YouTube, Dr. Tony Fauci, H1N1 Influenza a Virus, 2009) that is able to replicate itself only in other cells. Unlike bacteria, a virus cannot thrive on its own. A virus has to break into a cell and take control of the cell functions in order to replicate, often causing disease. Some viruses are benign, and others cause diseases like polio, smallpox, and measles. There are be three types of influenza: A, B, and C, which are all found in humans. Influenza A is found in “birds, pigs, whales, horses, and seals” (Microbiology: An Introduction, 2016, pp. 364) and also humans. It has the ability to attack the respiratory system, nose, throat, and lungs. Influenza A can also cause fever, chills, sore throat, runny nose, cough, muscle aches, and fatigue. The swine flu (influenza a virus) is an acute virus. The infected person shows the symptom of

INTRODUCTION 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