A few days ago, I talked to you about the common cold:
Is what you call a cold really a cold?
Let's talk about influenza today.
At present, it has reached the flu season, and there are relatively more flu patients, and many cold patients have to ask after seeing the disease: Is this the flu?
Common cold, influenza names are with "cold", some symptoms are similar, many people think that after the cold, the number of people with colds is more, that is, influenza.
This view is wrong, and it may be that the name misleads everyone. The common cold in English is "common cold", while the flu is "influenza". "Influenza" is a Chinese translation that seriously underestimates the harm of the influenza virus, leading people to think that this virus is a more contagious, more widely transmitted cold (common cold), but also may be a deeper degree of cold, in fact, the common cold and influenza are two completely different diseases, influenza is a Class C infectious disease (managed according to Class B), highly contagious, rapid spread.
Popularity should be a positive word, generally speaking, popular is the current trend, more popular, more popular, more easily accepted meaning!
But once the word epidemic is linked to the disease, it is not a simple disease: epidemic hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis, meningococcal meningitis, etc., likewise, influenza is not a fuel-saving lamp, and serious patients will die.
Looking back at history, influenza is one of the most serious infectious diseases affecting human health. In the 400 years since the 16th century, there have been at least 30 recorded global "pandemics." Since the first detailed record of influenza outbreaks in humans in 1580, the major outbreaks of influenza have shown cyclical characteristics, generally once every twenty or thirty years, and the longest interval is 39 years.
Since the 20th century, there have been 6 major outbreaks of influenza worldwide. It is said that the end of the First World War was due to the Spanish flu, because more than 100 million people got the flu and took about 50 million lives.
In the end, there were not enough soldiers to fight.
What does H1N1 flu mean?
Influenza is caused by influenza viruses, which belong to the family of orthogonal myxovirus, which is a single-stranded, negative-stranded, segmented RNA virus. According to the difference between nuclear protein and matrix protein, it is divided into four types: A, B, C and D.
There are many glycoprotein protrusions on the outer membrane of the A virus, including hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), which are named according to their differences, such as H1N1, H2N2, H3N2, H7N9, H5N1, H10N8, etc. Influenza B viruses are divided into the Victoria and Yamagata lines.
Influenza viruses mutate very quickly and are basically different from year to year, the Spanish flu of 1918-1919 (virus type H1N1), the 1957-1958 Asian flu (virus type H2N2), the 1968-1969 Hong Kong flu (virus type H3N2), the 1977-1978 Russian flu (virus type H1N1). This is one reason why the flu vaccine is given every year.
How to tell if you have the flu?
If you have symptoms of sneezing or runny nose after getting a cold, don't be nervous first, and then see if there are any of the following discomforts:
First observe whether other family members in the family, close classmates or colleagues have similar symptoms;
There is no chill and high fever, the general body temperature is above 39 ° C, and it is difficult to reduce fever by eating antipyretic drugs;
The whole body is uncomfortable, poor state, headache, body aches, fatigue, feel like the whole body is scattered, sometimes can not get out of bed, young children appear to be mentally weak or abnormally irritable; may have vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms.
How does a doctor diagnose the flu?
Evidence of influenza virus is still required, and the basis for the diagnosis includes: positive nucleic acid test for influenza virus; positive influenza antigen test; positive influenza virus isolation culture; and 4-fold or more increase in influenza virus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels in both serum during the acute and convalescent phases.
Other tests such as blood routine, liver and kidney function, chest x-ray, etc. are to judge the severity of the disease, and generally can not come to confirm the diagnosis of influenza.
What if you think about getting the flu?
Rest, self-isolate at home, don't think about work, and insist on going to work, infecting everyone, the boss is going to hate you.
Next time, we will talk about the treatment and prevention of influenza.