News-Letter

Over 2 million chickens and ducks in Asia have been culled in an attempt to prevent the spread of the flu. (Couresty of http://www.ecobed.co.uk ) [Click to enlarge]

You wake up on a cold December morning, and something feels not quite right. Your nose is stuffy, your throat is scratchy, your head hurts and you can barely move.

You're tempted to shut off your blaring alarm clock and go back to bed. Instead, you get out of bed and drag yourself to class, with a box of Kleenex in one hand and a bag of cough drops in the other.

Influenza, most commonly known as the flu, has been plaguing mankind for many years. According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), influenza is characterized by a fever, sore throat, congestion and headache.

There are three major types of the influenza virus: influenza A, B and C. Influenzas C and B affect only humans, whereas influenza A can affect both humans and animals.

Because the flu is caused by a virus, it cannot be treated by an antibiotic once someone is sick. However, scientists have developed vaccines to attempt to prevent the flu.

The difficulty in this is that there are many constantly changing strains of influenza, so it is hard to know which one to vaccinate.

The NFID explains that every fall a team of scientists gets together and predicts which strains should be targeted for that year's upcoming flu season.

The NFID claims that the influenza vaccine works effectively in 70 to 90 percent of healthy young adults. It is recommended that you get the vaccine in the fall, since that is typically the start of a new flu season.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that people over the age of 50 get the vaccine since they are most at risk for developing complications from influenza. Others are encouraged to get vaccinated as well.

One of the major things that concerns scientists is the fact that any particularly potent strain of the influenza virus has the potential to turn into a pandemic outbreak of the flu. The history of these pandemics is outlined in a BBC article by Ray Dunne.

Dunne explains that in the past 100 years there have been three flu pandemics.

The first of these three was in 1918. Dubbed the "Spanish flu," it is estimated to have killed as many as 50 million people worldwide.

The next two, the Asian flu of 1957 and the Hong Kong flu of 1968, both killed an approximated one million people.

Many scientists say that another major flu outbreak is inevitable. It is impossible to predict when it will happen. However, the fact that it has been 36 years since the last pandemic is a signal that the time is getting near.

Dunne's article explains that some scientists think that the next outbreak has already begun spreading through Asia.

This is referring to avian influenza, a strain of influenza A which can pass from infected birds to humans. This disease is commonly known as bird flu.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), bird flu does not typically make wild birds sick. However, bird flu can be fatal to domesticated birds. These birds, most commonly chickens, which are being raised for food, can pass influenza on to any humans who consume them.

The symptoms for bird flu are similar to the symptoms for other influenzas; fever, sore throat and a cough are characteristic of the disease. However, according to the CDC, it can also include eye infections or pneumonia.

The good news about this flu is that, according to Dunne's article, it has not yet been shown to be able to pass from humans to other humans.

However, influenzas are known to mutate quickly, meaning that this strain of bird flu could easily mutate and be transmittable between humans.

In recent news about the bird flu, scientists have begun to research possible vaccines to target the disease.

According to Dunne's article, a vaccine called Relenza is being suggested by Australian scientists.

The World Health Organization states that cases of the bird flu have currently only been passed to humans in Thailand and Vietnam.

So for the time being, we are safe from a pandemic flu in Baltimore. However, we still have to deal with the ups and downs of every day sickness.

Summing up many students' feelings about influenza, Hopkins sophomore Ondrej Juhasz says that his "experiences with the flu have been predominantly negative."

Junior Emily Caporello agrees, citing the fact that being a student makes getting the flu particularly difficult. "You have to weigh your priorities. Is it more important to go to class and study or to get healthy faster?"

Article Tools