Influenza
Influenza We have all heard of influenza, or as it is more commonly known, the flu. ... But then again maybe not even on them because, in many cases, influenza can actually prove to be fatal. ... The name, influenza, certainly doesn’t tell us much. The term Influenza is Italian, from Medieval Latin, meaning influence (because people used to believe that epidemics were caused by the influence of the stars. ... In this case, we know that Influenza is a virus, but before we discuss what that means, let’s look at the flu’s long history. ... another outbreak inspired the aforementioned name of influenza. ... In 1997 the first influenza virus that could be transferred directly from animals to humans appeared. ... As mentioned before, Influenza is actually a virus. ... Sometimes two influenza viruses attack the same cell in an organism which causes the viruses to merge and create a new strain from which no one has immunity. ... If you suspect you have the flu a doctor can test you for it within the first few days but you cannot be sure of having Influenza based on symptoms only. ... There are three types of the influenza virus. ... Although Influenza kills 20,000 to 40,000 Americans annually, most healthy adults recover naturally from an uncomplicated bout of the flu. ... In the event a person develops type A Influenza, there are two anti-viral drugs (Amantadine and/or Rimantadine) that can be given.