Swine Flu and Efforts to Control It Essay

According to Center for Disease Control (CDC), influenza viruses are divided into three types, designated as A, B, and C. Influenza type C usually only causes either very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Types A and B, however, are responsible for epidemics of respiratory illnesses that can result in hospitalization, or even death. Influenza is constantly changing over time by mutations. This continual change allows the virus to evade the antibodies that were meant to kill it. A host infected with influenza virus develops antibodies against that virus; as the virus changes, the "first" antibody no longer recognizes the "newer" virus and infection can occur because the host does not recognize the new flu virus as a problem until the infection is well under way. The first antibody developed may, in some instances, provide partial protection against infection with a new influenza virus. According to Medicine Net.com, In 2009, almost all individuals had no antibodies that could recognize the novel H1N1 virus immediately. It quickly spread throughout the world so fast that the WHO declared this new flu strain (termed novel H1N1 influenza A swine flu). There are currently four main strains of influenza circulating worldwide. Three of the viruses are type A, and one is type B. Type A viruses are divided into subtypes based on the differences in two viral proteins called hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). The three subtypes of influenza A are A(H1N1), A(H3N2), and A(H5N1). The reason for several strands of type A are because of the two kinds of change influenza A

Influenza is an infectious illness that can be spread from one individual to the next. It can be transmitted by means of saliva, nasal secretions, feces and blood. It can also be spread by coming in contact with the virus on contaminated surfaces. Influenza is responsible for an average of 36,000 deaths and for more than 226,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States. (Davidson, 2007-2009, Davis, 2007).

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.

Awareness  and   availability  will  impact  the  incidence  of  an  outbreak.     The  China  outbreak  was  not   well  understood;  therefore,  preventative  measures  were  not  yet  in  place.  Many  were   exposed  and  infected  but  were  not  developing  clinical  disease,  and  only  seven  of  the   18  cases  had  direct  or  indirect  contact  with  poultry.  Universal  precautions  and   practicing  good  hygiene  is  the  best  way  to  prevent  the  spread  of  influenza.

Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like

This paper will discuss the communicable disease influenza. It will discuss the causes, symptoms, and treatments, as well as the demographics of interest. It will also discuss the determinants of health and how these factors contribute to the development of influenza. Included in this paper will be information on host, agent, and environmental factors. Lastly it will explain the role of the community health nurse in caring for those affected with influenza and the role they play in education and prevention.

     Influenza has been around almost as long as people have walked the earth. Its roots draw back as far as 412 B.C., when a man named Hippocrates wrote of an uncontrollable outbreak of a disease that closely resembles influenza. This pandemic devastated an entire

According to the CDC there was a breakout in “1918-19 Flu pandemic, which killed as many as 50 million people worldwide”causing the biggest breakout for Influenza (Reconstruction of 1918 Influenza Pandemic Virus). Influenza originated from Asia and the Middle East. Virtually all mammalian species have influenza. Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the Influenza virus. There are three types of Influenza: type A, type B, and type C. Influenza has numerous symptoms, vaccinations, and is unlikely to kill it’s host.

One can claim that influenza is an infection that has victimized people from just about every generation that we have known. The term Influenza comes from the Latin word "influentia", first used by the Italians in the 1600's. It is a highly contagious infection particulary of the respiratory tract.In addition to us humans, influenza can occur in pigs, horses, and several other mammals as well as in certain wild and birds. It can also jump from specie to specie as observed in late 1997 when influenza from chickens was having its effects on people in Hong Kong. Because influenza is highly contagious and spreads easily, it has appeared in our history many a times as epidemics. Influenza is caused by an

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

There are there types of influenza A and C or the most severe types and B which is the most common, Luckily not the to severe. The virus works by first attaching to the outside of a host cell. It injects its RNA into the cell. Unfortunately our cells treat the RNA like they should. It translates the viral genes using the cell’s ribosomes and enzymes. Now the virus can take the cell over and use it to reproduce more viruses. Sooner or later it releases the new nauseating viruses and they search for another cell to raid.

The flu has a number of common names which include “English Sweat,” “Grippe,” “Influenza,” and “Swine Flu.” It is a very tiny virus with a diameter of 80-120

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

The disease however, exist now as the swine flu instead of the H1NI virus. The disease still spreads today just like the regular flu. In order to avoid the virus the person who does not have the disease can receive a vaccination for it. If not done the person’s vulnerable to gaining the disease which would result in a horrible number of events. That’s why the H1NI is still impacting the country today.

Influenza is a virus that is transmitted mainly via airborne process, which is one of the fastest mode of transmission. It is transmitted though airborne due to symptoms such as coughing and sneezing of the host (the infected). The host sneezes and coughs, influenza can easily be transmitted the agent via droplets and small microorganism, therefore entering the uninfected though the respiratory system (mouth and nasal) (WHO, 2016). Another way the virus can lead to pandemic, is due to the fact that the number of human and animals continue to grow and interact. Thus, the pandemic of influenza type A is possible. This mode of transmission is both and; the airborne (respiratory system) and physically (hand contamination). The customarily begins in rural areas (farms) as the virus can be found in hosts such as horses, pigs, chickens and birds. There has been an undetected interchange of the disease among animals and humans in rural environments which then eventually grows to become a global pandemic (Webster, RG & Monto, AS et al 2013, Textbook of influenza). The virus may continue to spread physically due to hand contamination in public; these may include door handles, public transport and other hand held hold objects. The last mode of transmission is genetically, this may then lead to asthma or even death (WHO,