What Is the Influenza Virus?

The influenza virus, or group of viruses, is responsible for as many as 500,000 deaths around the world on an annual basis. The respiratory illness is one of the most common diseases that continues to plague the population. Unlike other viruses, such as smallpox and tuberculosis, that have been virtually wiped out of the developed world through the use of vaccinations, many flu viruses are adept at mutating and can resist vaccinations.

Types

• It is not one virus that is called influenza but a family of viruses broken down into three types. Influenza A is the most serious and causes the most widespread epidemics. Influenza Type B is slower to mutate, and thus causes fewer epidemics. Also slow to mutate is Type C, which is also the mildest form of the illness.

Sub-Types

• Influenza Type A is further broken down into the categories that are commonly seen in the news today. For example, H5N1 is a type of Influenza A virus that is differentiated by the type of hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) found on the surface of the virus. Hemagglutinin is a glycoprotein bonding agent that allows the virus to attach itself to a host cell and neuraminidase is a glycoprotein responsible for enabling the invasion, or infection, of the host cell.

Symptoms

• The most common symptoms of swine flu include difficulty breathing, wheezing, sneezing, fever, chills and various aches all over the body. The symptoms often closely mimic those of a cold, but are typically much more severe. A fever beyond a low grade measurement is often a good sign of the flu, but only a doctor can tell for sure.

Treatment

• The influenza virus is a disease that generally has to run its course. Some anti-viral medications may be able to lessen the severity and the duration, but cannot kill the virus completely. Unlike antibiotics that can kill bacterial infections, viral infections are generally tougher to deal with. Bed rest and fluids are commonly prescribed as a natural course of treatment.

Prevention

• Preventing the flu, and the spread of the flu begins with practicing good hygiene. Washing hands frequently is recommended, as is coughing or sneezing into the elbow of a shirt sleeve, instead of on your hand. If an infection is especially prevalent in an area, using a disinfectant may provide a way to kill any viruses that happen to be on the surface of objects. Some are specifically formulated to attack viruses. Vaccinations can help as well, but are not 100 percent effective.

History

• Though the flu can strike at any time, flu season is normally considered to be the winter months, when people are indoors more and in closer proximity to each other. Historically, the flu season's hype has been worse than the actual result, but there have been a few exceptions. The worst flu in history was called the Spanish flu, which killed 20 million people worldwide between 1918 and 1919. The Asian flu of 1957 killed another 1 million people around the world.