I have been watching the events unfold in Mexico with interest and some trepidation. There's no way to tell what will come right now, not enough information is out there. But I thought it might be useful to give a brief sketch on what some of the history of influenza is, what the possibilities are, what you and others can do.
First let me say that I'm not an expert. I have had an interest in the flu for a number of years now, and have read some good books on the subject, written by people who have researched the hell out of every aspect. So, I'm not aiming to give out earth-shattering information or to be irresponsible and try to scare the daylights out of everyone. But I think that things that are pretty common knowledge among those who are medical professionals and scientists would be useful to everyone. Most of what I'll give out today is from a book titled "The Great Influenza" by John M. Barry, along with good ol' Wikipedia.
See you after the jump.
First a bit of history.
We have been hearing about flu-related illnesses in the news for a number of years now. The Hong Kong flu virus in 1997 that led to a local quarantine, the slaughter of millions of chickens and other fowl, and a few human deaths. A similar outbreak occurred in 2003 at European poultry farms resulted in the cleansing of poultry and swine in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), while flu-like is not influenza, has appeared and been contained in places like Canada, China, Taiwan, and San Francisco to name a few. The USA has been forming a national public health response plan in the event of a flu-like pandemic disease, aimed at identification, containment and prevention.
Why?
Because of all of the worlds illnesses, for as long as we have been around, influenza seems to have the most potential for causing large amounts of the population to become very sick. It's very contagious, and is often mistaken for something not so serious, like the average cold. In it's worse forms the symptoms can be vicious, the affects can be long lasting, and it has always been deadly. Usually the old and the very young are the most at risk. During the Influenza Pandemic in 1918 however, the disease struck down strong men and women, as the very strength of their immune systems was turned against them.
This 1918 pandemic is the reason that so many health organizations have spent so much effort on local and national response coordination and public health education. A flu virus swept the globe in several waves during a time of world war and wartime censorship , reaching back to some of the most remote places on the planet. It sickened and killed whole percents of a population, 10% in Paris, 5% in Guam, 4% in Cape Town. World-wide, rough estimates are of between 5% - 10% of the worlds young adults died from influenza.
The national response to the pandemic of 1918 was not non-existent. But thousand of men going to war, training in camps for war, the censorship in place because of the war, the ignorance and outright stupidity of some in charge of the public health had a direct result in preventing the measures from having an effect. These are not the circumstances of today (ignorance and stupidity non-withstanding).
So, what should you know about the flu virus itself? Well, the first thing to know is that it IS a virus. And that's no small thing.
From Wikipedia:
A virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable to grow or reproduce outside a host cell. Viruses infect all cellular life.
.... Viruses spread in many ways; plant viruses are often transmitted from plant to plant by insects that feed on sap, such as aphids, while animal viruses can be carried by blood-sucking insects. These disease-bearing organisms are known as vectors. Influenza viruses are spread by coughing and sneezing, and others such as norovirus, are transmitted by the faecal-oral route, when they contaminate hands, food or water. Rotaviruses are often spread by direct contact with infected children. HIV is one of several viruses that are transmitted through sex.
.... Some viruses can cause life-long or chronic infections, and the viruses continue to replicate in the body despite the hosts' defense mechanisms. However, viral infections in animals usually cause an immune response, which can completely eliminate a virus. These immune responses can also be produced by vaccines that give lifelong immunity to a viral infection. Microorganisms such as bacteria also have defenses against viral infection, such as restriction modification systems. Antibiotics have no effect on viruses, but antiviral drugs have been developed to treat life-threatening and more minor infections.
.... Viruses undergo genetic change by several mechanisms. These include a process called genetic drift where individual bases in the DNA or RNA mutate to other bases. Most of these point mutations are silent in that they do not change the protein that the gene encodes, but others can confer evolutionary advantages such as resistance to antiviral drugs. Antigenic shift is where there is a major change in the genome of the virus. This occurs as a result of recombination or re assortment. When this happens with influenza viruses, pandemics may result.
Thank you, Wikipedia.
Now, how is the influenza virus spread? And what are the usual symptoms?
Again, our friend, Wikipedia
Typically, influenza is transmitted from infected mammals through the air by coughs or sneezes, creating aerosols containing the virus, and from infected birds through their droppings. Influenza can also be transmitted by saliva, nasal secretions, faeces and blood. Infections also occur through contact with these body fluids or with contaminated surfaces. Flu viruses can remain infectious for about one week at human body temperature, over 30 days at 0 °C (32 °F), and for much longer periods at very low temperatures. Most influenza strains can be inactivated easily by disinfectants and detergents.
....Symptoms of influenza can start quite suddenly one to two days after infection. Usually the first symptoms are chills or a chilly sensation, but fever is also common early in the infection, with body temperatures ranging from 38-39 °C (approximately 100-103 °F). Many people are so ill that they are confined to bed for several days, with aches and pains throughout their bodies, which are worse in their backs and legs. Symptoms of influenza may include:
* Body aches, especially joints and throat
* Extreme coldness and fever
* Fatigue
* Headache
* Irritated watering eyes
* Reddened eyes, skin (especially face), mouth, throat and nose
* Abdominal pain (in children with influenza B)
It can be difficult to distinguish between the common cold and influenza in the early stages of these infections, but a flu can be identified by a high fever with a sudden onset and extreme fatigue. Most people who get influenza will recover in one to two weeks, but others will develop life-threatening complications (such as pneumonia). Even healthy people can be affected, and serious problems from influenza can happen at any age. People over 50 years old, very young children and people of any age with chronic medical conditions are more likely to get complications from influenza, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus, and ear infections.
Common symptoms of the flu such as fever, headaches, and fatigue come from the huge amounts of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines (such as interferon or tumor necrosis factor) produced from influenza-infected cells. In contrast to the rhinovirus that causes the common cold, influenza does cause tissue damage, so symptoms are not entirely due to the inflammatory response.
So how can you keep from getting it? Well, most of prevention depends on your fellow man. That may not sound comforting, but awareness and being armed with knowledge go a long way. If you have observed the pictures from Mexico, you are watching a population arming itself appropriately against a severe illness.
More from Wikipedia
Good personal health and hygiene habits, like hand washing, are reasonably effective in avoiding and minimizing influenza. People who contract influenza are most infective between the second and third days after infection and infectivity lasts for around ten days. Children are notably more infectious than adults and shed virus from just before they develop symptoms until two weeks after infection.
Since influenza spreads through aerosols and contact with contaminated surfaces, it is important to persuade people to cover their mouths while sneezing and to wash their hands regularly. Surface sanitizing is recommended in areas where influenza may be present on surfaces. Alcohol is an effective sanitizer against influenza viruses, while quaternary ammonium compounds can be used with alcohol to increase the duration of the sanitizing action. In hospitals, quaternary ammonium compounds and halogen-releasing agents such as sodium hypochlorite are commonly used to sanitize rooms or equipment that have been occupied by patients with influenza symptoms. During past pandemics, closing schools, churches and theaters slowed the spread of the virus but did not have a large effect on the overall death rate. Face masks might help reduce transmission in an influenza pandemic.
Lastly, what's the possibility of this becoming a bad situation? Well, really it's not known yet. This new virus is a combination of bird, human and swine strains. It's new, which isn't good, because we aren't likely to have a built up immunity to it. The flu virus mutates as it moves through a population, so it can become a greater threat or a less harmful threat. The CDC and the WHO is worried, but they are setting up screening and quarantines, informing the public, and advising the governments involved, which is a great help. They are going to try to keep it contained, then study it and hopefully add it to our vaccinations.
Bottom line, information is your greatest tool. Educate others and pay strict attention to any public health warnings and guidelines. It's like anything else, preparation is key. Hope you found this information useful.
-Diary edited to improve readability