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Influenza, or the flu, attacks up to one billion people annually. In the
US, it kills 20,000 annually, most of whom are children or elderly. Occasionally
the flu becomes pandemic: in 1918, it killed 20 million people worldwide. The
flu is a very contagious viral infection spread through the air by coughing,
sneezing, or simply talking. It is not caused by getting caught in a rainstorm
or by sleeping with the fan or air-conditioning on.
The incubation period is about three days. It doesn’t sneak up on you, like
a cold does. All of a sudden, you feel weak, you have a high fever, you have
chills, you cough frequently and forcefully, your throat is sore, and your body
aches.
For most adults, the treatment is to simply wait it out: stay home, get
lots of bed rest, drink lots of fluids, and take over-the-counter medications
such as aspirin, pain-killers, and nasal decongestants. Symptoms usually go away
within two weeks. For the elderly and young, the initial viral infection may
become a bacterial infection with deadly consequences, because the victim
becomes too weak to battle the disease. The death rate for the general
population is about one in 1,000. Those most susceptible to severe effects of
the flu are people over 65 and people with chronic heart or lung problems, such
as asthma.
Flu season in the US is usually December to March. The best prevention, of
course, is to stay away from infected people. Since that is almost impossible,
the next best preventive strategy is to get an annual flu shot. This vaccine
reduces the number of people who get infected—and who die—yearly. |
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发表于 2016-7-10 09:22:24