by Eve Redstone

Created on: January 06, 2008

Influenza is a viral disease that sweeps the world each year. It starts in the Far East and moves westwards, and every year it is caused by a slightly different virus. Some years are good years where fewer people get sick, or get less sick: some years are bad years where the sufferers are more numerous and they get sicker. 1916 was the year of the most famous flu pandemic; unusually for flu this particular strain killed fit young adults. This part of the population can usually fight of the flu. Globally between half and one million people will die each year from complications of the flu, mostly among the vulnerable populations.

Symptoms of the flu are the same as for a cold but a lot worse. A lot of people say, "I have the flu", when they haven't really, they have a cold. It may be bad one, but it is cold. Patients with flu are rarely capable of carrying on with their daily routine even if they want to.

The difference between a cold and the flu is that flu strikes quickly and the symptoms are far more severe with aching bones, sneezing, a runny nose and a fever. Colds tend to creep up on a patient more slowly. A normal healthy adult can take a few days in bed with symptomatic treatment and recover fully. They will then be immune until next year. The danger is in patients who have a weakened immune system, or have weakened lungs. The elderly, the very young, people with respiratory problems such as asthmatics, and those already ill with diabetes or heart conditions are at greater risk of complications. These complications include pneumonia and ultimately can kill a patient.

To prevent a repeat of the 1916 pandemic, and to protect our vulnerable populations, many governments undertake free vaccination programs. Each year as the flu season approaches particular groups of people are urged to get their flu shot. Many patients resist this, claiming the shot makes them ill. It is impossible to get the flu from a flu shot. There are side effects, commonly soreness and redness at the site of injection, a sign that your body is making antibodies, and a slight fever and feeling of illness for a few days after infection. Flu vaccines are made in eggs so patients allergic to eggs have to avoid them.

The vaccination has to be repeated every year as the vaccine is different, because the influenza virus changes each year. There are proteins on the surface called haemagglutinin and neuraminidase that the vaccine is keyed into. Each year a different form of these proteins is

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>