Influenza commonly known as flu is a viral infection of upper respiratory tract – nose, throat, bronchial tubes and lunges. Its prevalence reaches peak during the winter, while the incidence greatly varies from year to year. About 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations are directly associated with influenza alone in the United States each year.

Flu can be caused by three types (strains) of the RNA viruses known as influezavirus A, influenzavirus B and influenzavirus C. Often occur new types of influenza which commonly spread to humans from different animals. In April 2009, a novel flu strain emerged in Mexico – the Influenza A/H1N1 commonly known as the swine flu which is a combination of swine, human and avian influenza viruses. The WHO (World Health Organization) officially declared the novel flu strain a global pandemic in June 2009. So far the majority of infected people experienced only mild symptoms similar to those in seasonal flu and recovered relatively quickly. Despite that the majority of health experts and epidemiologists still recommend mass vaccination against the swine flu.

The symptoms of flu are very similar to common cold but occur suddenly and are more severe. Muscle ache can also occur in common cold but it commonly implies on infection with influenza virus. Fever which can also be a symptom of cold is higher in flu. Like common cold, flu commonly does not represent any major health risk for otherwise healthy adults who usually recover within few days. However, flu can be even fatal for people with chronic medical condition or weakened immune system.

Related posts:

1. Types of Flu – Stains (types) of influenzaviruses
2. Swine Flu – What is swine flu
3. Flu Symptoms – Signs and symptoms of flu
4. Swine Flu Vaccines – Safety and efficacy of the vaccines against the novel H1N1 flu virus
5. Flu Vaccination – Benefits and side effects of flu vaccine
6. About Common Cold – What is common cold
7. Symptoms of Swine Flu – Sign and symptoms of novel H1N1 flu
8. Common Cold Causes – Causes and transmission of common cold
9. Difference Between Common Cold and Influenza – How to distinguish between common cold and flu
10. Common Cold Symptoms – Common signs and symptoms of cold

This entry was posted on Friday, December 25th, 2009 at 10:58 am and is filed under Flu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.