Influenza and H1N1
Who is there prey?
Food for thought, did you know that influenza can be traced as far back as the year 1357?
According to “World Epidemics”, Domenico di Leonardo Buoninsegnis of Florence, Italy
chronicled about how the city experienced an outbreak that he named “Influenza di
freddo”. The term refers to the influence of the stars on the respiratory ills. Amazingly
enough, centuries later we are still dealing with the same epidemic just of an even greater
proportion. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can
cause mild to severe illness, and at times even death.
Coughing and sneezing of the people with influenza, is thought to be the most dominant
way of contracting the virus; though there are some cases where people may become
infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then adhering it to their nose or
mouth. On average every year in the United States alone 5 to 20 percent of the population
gets the flu (also known as the seasonal flu), more than 200,000 people are hospitalized
from flu-related complications and about 36,000 people die from flu-related causes.
Symptoms of the Flu include: headache, fever, dry cough, extreme tiredness, sore throat,
runny nose, muscle aches and stomach pains.
The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get a seasonal flu vaccination each year.
Another way we can lower our chances of catching the infection is by washing our hands
regularly and refrain from touching things in public places. The two types of flu vaccines
