Flu now no longer surprise anyone. We are so used to it that we perceive the flu virus as a common cold.
Meanwhile, it was discovered relatively recently - in 1933, by British scientists. We started talking about influenza three years later (in 1936). Influenza strains were isolated by Smorodintsev. A little later, the name of the strains was also given: "Influenza A virus". Four years later, the Americans discovered another variety - the B virus. Soon the C flu virus appeared.
Three hottest
their epidemics, which captured almost the entire globe, occur in 1889, 1918 (Spanish) and 1957 (Asian).
An infectious disease that spreads extremely quickly can turn into an epidemic in the shortest possible time, affecting not only individual cities or regions, but even countries. However, despite such a high ability to spread rapidly, the virus flu is unstable and easily dies during disinfection (disinfectantssolutions, 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 immediately appears.
Another serious scourge is high toxicity. As a rule, a person who has had the flu has various complications, despite the immunity produced by the body. By the way, immunity applies specifically to the type of flu that was transferred by the body (strictly specific), so there is no guarantee that other strains will not subsequently affect the person who has been ill. In other words, immunity developed after virus A is powerless against virus B. Yes, and it lasts for a short time.
For the transmission of the disease, there is no need for direct contact: it is enough to be close to the carrier of the infection, especially if the latter is talking, sneezing, coughing.
The flu virus, having penetrated the respiratory tract, multiplies rapidly, causing a runny nose to begin with, and then a fever and cough, acting on the vascular and nervous system. A particularly high temperature is recorded in the first days (up to 39 degrees, and sometimes even higher). The feverish period lasts up to five days. At this time, it hurts to look, the head is spinning and it hurts, vomiting is possible. All this is the action of toxins.
Nature would have to calm down on this, but it throws us new "surprises", the next of which is the swine flu virus, which belongs to the most common type A (causes particularly large-scale and rapidly spreading epidemics). WhyIs it swine flu? Where does this name come from?
It turns out that initially this virus developed only in pigs. Variability and amazing "adaptability" allowed the virus to change the antigenic structure, become stronger, more active and easily switch to a person.
Symptoms are similar to the main ones listed, but appear in a more severe (strong) form. Even this virus has several modifications. The most common of these is the H1N1 influenza virus (in addition, H3N2, H1N2, H3N1 subtypes have been discovered).
The peculiarity of the virus is in its antigenic properties: vaccination against it this year will be invalid next year.
A mutating virus does not allow predicting its modifications, so it is also impossible to develop a vaccine in advance. It remains to rely only on the main prevention of influenza - a he althy lifestyle, hardening and taking immunomodulatory drugs.
