The Flu: Everything You Need to Know

February 9th, 2020

I thought I would do my second blog on a topic that many people can relate to, the flu. I can relate to this more than I would like, as I am currently recovering from the flu. This is what really inspired me to write about it for this weeks topic.

What is the flu virus?

First off lets discuss what causes this sickness. The flu is caused by an influenza (flu) virus, which infects the upper respiratory tract (nose and throat) and sometimes the lungs. There are many different types of flu viruses, but the most common are Type A and Type B.

Transmission: The flu virus can be spread directly or indirectly. It spreads directly when respiratory droplets, which contain the virus, are coughed or sneezed out by an infected host and then inhaled. It is also possible for it to spread indirectly when one touches a fomite, an inanimate object, that has been contaminated with the virus and then touch their face (mouth, eyes, nose). When they touch their face that is how the virus enters into their body and starts to infect them. This is why it is important for people to wash their hands and to not touch their face all the time!

Signs and Symptoms: The signs and symptoms of this illness can range from mild signs and symptoms to death. The common signs and symptoms are:

Secondary Infection: When someone gets the flu they have a risk of developing secondary infections. A secondary infection is an infection that results during the treatment or directly after the primary infection. It is from these infections that people can die from. So this is how people can die indirectly from the flu. It is not directly from the flu virus itself but because they had the flu they contracted another problem, which led to their death. It is important to note that you can die directly die from the flu virus, but it is less common. This is why I think it is very important to rest as much as possible while you have the flu and after so you can prevent these infections from occurring. The most common secondary infections that can occur are:

• Pneumonia
• Bronchitis
• Asthma flare-ups
• Heart problems
• Ear infections

Flu Vaccine:

Now that you have a better understanding of the causing agent lets discuss the vaccine that attempts to prevent the infection of this virus. There are many different forms of the flu vaccine. It can be an inactive version or it can be an attenuated vaccine, which means that it contains a less pathogenic version of the virus. Because the virus is weakened the body is able to effectively get rid of the virus and can have an immune response to it. However, it is very hard to make a vaccine for the flu virus because this virus constantly mutates and there are many different types of flu viruses that circulate. This is why you have to receive a vaccine annually because it constantly needs to be updated. Scientist and researchers have to predict what mutations might occur and try and predict what the strain will be like. Even if this vaccine is not an exact “match” it can still be effective. The effectiveness of the vaccine is based on two factors. First it is based on who is receiving the vaccine. How old are they? and how healthy are they? For example as one ages their immune system changes and weakens, and this can affect how effective the vaccine is. Second it is based off how close of a “match” the vaccine is to the actual virus causing the infection during sed year. The closer the match the more effective the vaccine will be at preventing the illness and its complications.

Now you might be wondering, how effective are the flu vaccines this year? According to the CDC it is too early to predict the vaccine’s effectiveness for this season. But in past flu seasons the vaccine has been 40% to 60% effective in its prevention. Meaning that people vaccinated can still get the flu but will likely have it for a shorter duration and less severe signs and symptoms compared to someone who has not received the vaccine. It is important for people to get vaccinated. The vaccine might not prevent the contraction of the virus but it will most likely make your sickness less severe. Trust me, as someone who just had the flu virus and didn’t make time this year to get the vaccine, you want to get the vaccine because having the flu without it is miserable.

2019-2020 Flu Season Stats:

The CDC estimates that from October 1st through February 1st in the United States there have been”

• 22,000,000 to 33,000,000 people with the flu illness
• 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 flu medical visits
• 210,000 to 370,000 hospitalizations from the flu
• 12,000 to 30,000 deaths from the flu

When I first read these results while researching this topic I thought that it was talking about worldwide, but in fact this just covers the United States. I never realized how many people are affected from the flu and how many people die. But it is also to surprising with how this disease spread. In Microbiology we talk about how viruses that spread by respiratory droplets are contagious because many people do not cover their mouths when the cough or sneeze. Further, it is interesting for me to see this data because I feel like people do not put enough emphasis on the severity of the flu. Thousands of people have died in the United States because of the flu this year and no one in the United States has yet died from the coronavirus (shameless plug: check out my blog posts about this virus for more information). Yet, there is so much attention and fear around the coronavirus when people in the United States have a higher likelihood of contracting and possibly dying from the flu. After reading these statistics I hope you realize the importance of getting the flu vaccine in attempt to prevent this illness or offset its severity.

In conclusion, I hope that you are now a little more informed about what the flu is. I hope you understand the severity of this disease, something that is often overlooked, and understand the importance of getting a flu vaccine.

Thanks for reading this week, look out for next weeks post!

If you would like to read more, here are the sources I used:

https://www.ynhhs.org/patient-care/urgent-care/flu-or-coronavirus https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm