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How flu spreads

Complications of flu can include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration, and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes.

How serious is the flu?

While seasonal influenza outbreaks can happen as early as October, most of the time influenza activity peaks in January or later. Since it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body that protect against influenza virus infection, it is best that people get vaccinated so they are protected before influenza begins spreading in their community.

contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs.

contagious respiratory illness

Disease outbreaks occur most frequently in domestic fowl and turkeys. A particular isolate may produce severe disease in turkeys but not in chickens or any other avian species. Therefore, it would be impossible to generalize on the host range for avian influenza, for it will likely vary with the isolate. This assumption is supported by reports of farm outbreaks where only a single avian species of several species present on the farm became infected. Many species of wild birds particularly water birds and seabirds - are also susceptible, but infections in these birds are generally sub-clinical.

athogenic strains could emerge and cause disease in domestic poultry in any country at any time without warning. In fact, outbreaks have occurred at irregular intervals on all continents.

he most serious outbreaks in recent times have been reported in Hong Kong 1997-1998 and 2003, Chile 2002, The Netherlands 2003 and South East Asia 2004-2006.

he incubation period is 3 to 5 days in general but may be longer. Maximal incubation period is 21 days as defined by the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code.

Inactivated quality assured oil-emulsion vaccines have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing mortality, preventing disease, or both, in chickens and turkeys. These vaccines, however, may not prevent infection in some individual birds, and if infected could shed virulent virus. Nevertheless, the amount virus shed is considerable less than that of non-vaccinated and infected birds. It is imperative that the circulating antigenic avian influenza virus is known and the vaccine represent this antigenic strain, since there is no cross-protection among the 15 known HA subtypes.

Birds that die of peracute disease may show minimal gross lesions, consisting of dehydration and congestion of viscera and muscles.

The following diseases must be considered in the differential diagnosis of virulent AI: Other diseases causing sudden high mortality Newcastle disease infectious laryngotracheitis duck plague acute poisonings

DC recommends that everyone six months of age and older receive an annual vaccination. The best time to get vaccinated is in the early fall, as soon as the vaccine is available.

very year.

Influenza is a highly contagious viral infection of the nose, throat, and lungs that occurs most often in the late fall, winter, and early spring.

Common symptoms include a high fever (101ºF-102ºF) that begins suddenly, muscle/body aches, chills, tiredness, and sudden onset. Influenza frequently causes people to miss school and work but in some cases there are severe complications such as pneumonia

ommon symptoms include a high fever (101ºF-102ºF) that begins suddenly, muscle/body aches, chills, tiredness, and sudden onset. Influenza frequently causes people to miss school and work but in some cases there are severe complications such as pneumonia.

impacts people of all ages. 

affect

more than

5-20%

n annual

US populatio

muscle/body aches

200,000 individuals

ospitalized

fever (101ºF-102ºF)

influenza vaccination

chills

udden onset

tiredness,

3,000-49,000 deaths occur from influenza-related complications. 

nfluenza is a highly contagious viral infection of the nose, throat, and lungs that occurs most often in the late fall, winter, and early spring. It is a serious infection that affects between 5-20% of the US population annually. Each year, more than 200,000 individuals are hospitalized and 3,000-49,000 deaths occur from influenza-related complications. 

everyone six months of age and older receive an annual vaccination.

early fall, as soon as the vaccine is available.

happen as early as October, but most of the time flu activity peaks between December and February

January or later, is still beneficia

Antigenic diversity of the virus and constant influx of new subtypes allow the virus to become resistant to these antiviral drugs and evade vaccines. There is therefore a continuing need for new anti-influenza therapeutics using novel targets and creative strategies.

An aggressive immune response known as the cytokine storm plays an important role in causing significant tissue injury and mortality following human pathogenic influenza virus

bacterial infections in the lungGSK starts shipping FLUARIX

infection

most vaccine formulations for influenza are still produced by rather old-fashioned techniques that have been in use for over 60 years. Such methods involve the growth and passaging of the vaccine strains in embryonated chicken eggs, therefore production and subsequent formulation can take several months and rely

Children 0-4 years of age have the second-highest hospitalization rate this season.

Symptoms of influenza infection include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headache, fatigue (tiredness), and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea (more common in children than adults).

The United States experiences epidemics of seasonal flu each year. This time of year is called "flu season." While influenza activity has declined in recent weeks and the flu season is coming to a close, most of CDC’s influenza surveillance systems still show elevated activity.

There are several factors that make it difficult to determine accurate numbers of deaths caused by flu regardless of reporting.

the sheer volume of deaths to be counted; not everyone that dies with an influenza-like illness is tested for influenza; and influenza-associated deaths are often a result of complications secondary to underlying medical problems, and this may be difficult to sort out.

Flu viruses are constantly changing and it's not unusual for new seasonal flu viruses to appear each year.

When viruses change in that way, they are said to be “drifted” viruses.

he timi

g of flu

s very unpredictable and can vary in different parts of the country and from season to season

However, seasonal flu activity can begin as early as October and continue to occur as late as May.

CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine(http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/index.htm) for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease.

In addition to getting a seasonal flu vaccine if you have not already gotten vaccinated, you can take everyday preventive actions(http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits/index.htm) like staying away from sick people and washing your hands to reduce the spread of germs. If you are sick with flu, stay home from work or school to prevent spreading flu to others.

A number of different manufacturers produce trivalent (three component) influenza vaccines for the U.S. market, including intramuscular (IM), intradermal, and nasal spray vaccines.

Multiple studies conducted over different seasons and across vaccine types and influenza virus subtypes have shown that the body’s immunity to influenza viruses (acquired either through natural infection or vaccination) declines over time.

Yes. It’s possible to get sick with the flu even if you have been vaccinated (although you won’t know for sure unless you get a flu test). This is possible for the following reasons:

You may be exposed to a flu virus shortly before getting vaccinated or during the period that it takes the body to gain protection after getting vaccinated. This exposure may result in you becoming ill with flu before the vaccine begins to protect you. (About 2 weeks after vaccination, antibodies that provide protection develop in the body.) You may be exposed to a flu virus that is not included in the seasonal flu vaccine. There are many different flu viruses that circulate every year. The flu vaccine is made to protect against the three or four flu viruses that research suggests will be most common. Unfortunately, some people can become infected with a flu virus the flu vaccine is designed to protect against, despite getting vaccinated. Protection provided by flu vaccination can vary widely, based in part on health and age factors of the person getting vaccinated. In general, the flu vaccine works best among healthy younger adults and older children. Some older people and people with certain chronic illnesses may develop less immunity after vaccination. Flu vaccination is not a perfect tool, but it is the best way to protect against flu infection.

influenza is responsible for an average of more than 20,000 deaths annually.[1]

The percentage of seniors with postvaccination hemagglutination-inhibition titers of 1:40

-dose vaccine, according to results from a phase IIIb-IV double-blind, active-controlled trial.[

A total of 31,989 participants were randomly assigned to receive either a high dose (IIV3-HD) (60 μg of hemagglutinin per strain) or a standard dose (IIV3-SD) (15 μg of hemagglutinin per strain) of a trivalent, inactivated influenza vaccine.

Although reports of at least one serious adverse event were greater in the IIV3-HD group (8.3%) than in the IIV3-SD group (9.0%) (relative risk, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.85 to 0.99), all resolved by the end of the study and none required discontinuation from the study

High-dose influenza vaccine appears to have the potential to prevent nearly one-quarter of all breakthrough influenza illnesses in seniors (≥65 y) compared with

The presentation of influenza virus infection varies, but it usually includes many of the following signs and symptoms:

Fever Sore throat Myalgias Frontal or retro-orbital headache Nasal discharge Weakness and severe fatigue Cough and other respiratory symptoms Tachycardia Red, watery eyes

Avian influenza (H5N1) is rare in humans in developed countries

The symptoms of H1N1 are the same as seasonal flu symptoms.