Influenza: fighting a moving target

Gary Finnegan

Gary Finnegan

April 27th, 2011

Gary Finnegan
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‘Influenza is a viral infection that mainly affects the nose, throat, bronchi and, in some cases, the lungs. Symptoms usually last about a week and include (high) fever, muscle pain, headache, (severe) malaise, non-productive cough, sore throat and rhinitis. ’

Influenza-fighting-a-moving-targetInfluenza, or ‘flu’, is spread mainly by coughing and sneezing. The majority of infected people recover within a week or two without requiring specific medical treatment.

However, in the very young, the elderly, and those with serious underlying medical conditions, infection can lead to severe complications. In some cases, infection can lead to pneumonia and death.

Annual seasonal flu epidemics affect between 10% and 20% of the population every year, leading most developed countries to embark on . Upon identification of the circulating strains for the year by WHO, seasonal influenza vaccines are developed every year to cover the three most prevalent strains circulating in the population.

In 2009, the WHO declared the first full-scale influenza pandemic in decades after a new strain of flu – known as H1N1 – spread across continents. A vaccine against this strain of influenza has since been incorporated into the annual flu shot.

Click here to read more about influenza

This article is part of a series compiled by Vaccines Today to raise awareness of European Immunization Week 2011 which runs from 23-30 April

Comments

  1. Arianna

    Arianna

    June 28th, 2011

    Hey friend can i publish some paragraph of your article on my little blog of university.I have to publish a good articles out there and i really think your post Fits best into it.I will be grateful to give you an source link as well.I have two blogs one my own and the other which is my college blog.I will publish some part in the university blog.Hope you do not mind.

    • Gary Finnegan

      Gary Finnegan

      July 1st, 2011

      Yes, of course. Please feel free to link to Vaccines Today