Influenza now no one no longer surprise. We are so used to it that we perceive the flu virus as an ordinary cold.
Meanwhile, it was opened relatively recently -in 1933, the English scientists. We talked about the flu three years later (in 1936). The strains of influenza were isolated by Smorodintsev. A little later, the name was given to the strains: "Influenza A virus." Four years later, the Americans discovered another version - the virus B. Soon the flu virus C also appeared.
The three most striking
An infectious disease that spreads extremely quickly, can turn into an epidemic in the shortest time, affecting not only certain cities or regions, but even the country.
However, despite such a high capacity forrapid spread, the influenza virus is unstable and easily dies when disinfected (disinfecting solutions, boiling). The peculiarity and at the same time the danger of influenza lies in its variability (or mutation). As soon as doctors find a vaccine against one species, another appears immediately.
Another serious scourge is high toxicity.As a rule, the flu has a variety of complications, despite the immunity produced by the body. By the way, immunity extends to the type of influenza that has been transferred by the body (strictly specific), therefore there is no guarantee that other strains will not later infect others. In other words, the immunity, produced after the virus A, is powerless before the virus B. Yes, and it acts for a short time.
To transmit the disease, there is no need for direct contact: it is enough to be near the carrier of the infection, especially if the latter is talking, sneezing, coughing.
Influenza virus, penetrating the respiratory tract,quickly multiplies, causing a cold for the beginning, and then - fever and cough, acting on the vascular and nervous system. Especially high temperature is fixed in the first days (up to 39 degrees, and sometimes even higher). Feverish period lasts up to five days. At this time it is painful to look, dizzy and headache, it is possible vomiting. All this is the action of toxins.
On this nature and calm down, but shegives us new "surprises", the next of which is the swine flu virus, which belongs to the most common type A (causes especially large and rapidly spreading epidemics). Why swine flu? Where does this name come from?
Symptoms are similar to those listed above, butmanifest themselves in a more severe (strong) form. Even this virus has several modifications. The most common of these is the H1N1 influenza virus (in addition, the subtypes H3N2, H1N2, H3N1 have been discovered).
The peculiarity of the virus is its antigenic properties: the vaccination against it this year will be invalid in the next one.
Mutating virus does not allow to predict ittherefore, it is impossible to develop a vaccine in advance. It remains to rely only on the main prevention of influenza - a healthy lifestyle, hardening and taking immunomodulating drugs.
