Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a highly contagious respiratory virus. It is no rarer than the fall and winter months. It is regularly transmitted through respiratory droplets when a user with the flu sneezes or coughs.
The circle of relatives of viruses that includes influenza is wide. You’ve probably heard that there are other types of influenza viruses, particularly influenza A virus and influenza B virus.
Influenza A can be detected in many species, humans, birds, and pigs.
Because of the variety of their potential hosts and their ability to be genetically replaced in a short period of time, influenza A viruses are very diverse. They are capable of causing a pandemic. This occurs when a virus very different from circulating influenza A strains appears.
Influenza B is only discovered in humans.
Influenza C mainly affects humans, although it is also known to dogs and pigs.
Influenza D is basically discovered in cattle. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is not known to infect or cause disease in humans.
Influenza A is divided into other subtypes. These subtypes are found in the mixture of two proteins on the surface of the virus: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). There are 18 other H subtypes and another 11 N subtypes.
For example, the most common subtypes of influenza A that circulate seasonally in humans are H1N1 and H3N2. In 2017, H3N2 spread to dogs in Florida. In 2015, this same strain also ignited dogs in an earlier outbreak in Chicago.
Influenza A viruses can degrade and become strains.
Unlike influenza A, influenza B is divided into subtypes, but it can be broken down into express lineages and viral strains.
The naming of influenza virus strains is complex. It includes such as:
Influenza A infections are estimated to account for 75 percent of all seasonal influenza infections shown. Influenza B infections account for the remaining 25
Although peak infections showed that the flu season is influenza A, the frequency of influenza B infections would likely increase in the flu season. This happened in the 2017-2018 flu season.
Influenza A and influenza B are incredibly contagious. People who contract either can spread the virus to others up to six feet away when they cough or sneeze.
You can get the virus by touching a surface that has the virus on it and then touching your nose or mouth.
Treatment for a flu infection is the same no matter which one you have contracted.
Unfortunately, there is no remedy that can kill the virus. Treatment aims to relieve symptoms until your body clears the virus naturally.
Antiviral medications can shorten the duration of your illness, possibly also decreasing your symptoms. Common antiviral prescriptions include:
There is also an antiviral drug called baloxavir marboxil (Xofluza) that was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in late 2018.
The drugs zanamivir, oseltamivir, and peramivir discussed above work by reducing the virus’s ability to replicate.
These antiviral drugs are most effective within 48 hours of illness. They are useless in treating illnesses caused by influenza C.
Over-the-counter medications can be taken to relieve nasal congestion, fever, and body aches.
Getting plenty of rest, eating a healthy diet, and drinking plenty of fluids will also help your body fight the virus.
An undeniable influenza A or influenza B infection can cause symptoms that last about a week. Other people may still cough or feel tired after two weeks.
Some influenza A subtypes can cause more severe illness than others. For example, in the recent past, influenza A (H3N2) viruses have been linked to more hospitalizations and deaths in young and older adults than in other age groups, according to the CDC.
In the past, influenza A infection was believed to be more severe than influenza B infection. However, a 2015 study of adults with influenza A and B found that both caused similar rates of illness and death.
Additionally, in a Canadian study of children aged 16 years and younger, influenza B infection was associated with a higher risk of mortality than influenza A.
Influenza C is thought to be the least severe of the three types that humans can get. It causes mild respiratory illness in adults, but there is some evidence that it can cause severe respiratory illness in children younger than 2 years old.
The CDC estimates that between 2010 and 2018, influenza infection caused between 9. 3 million and 49 million illnesses, between 140,000 and 960,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 and 79,000 deaths.
Data from the 2017 to 2018 flu season suggest that 84. 1 percent of positive samples were influenza A, while 15. 9 percent were influenza B. Among hospitalizations, 86. 4 percent were related to influenza A, while 13. 2 percent were related to influenza B infection. .
The seasonal flu vaccine is developed several months before flu season. The viruses selected for the vaccine are based on studies in which the strains are more likely to be more common.
Sometimes, circulating flu viruses can mutate from season to season. Because experts will have to choose which virus to include in the vaccine months before flu season, there may not be a smart mix between the vaccine and circulating viruses.
This would possibly lead to a relief in the efficacy of the vaccine. But even when this happens, the vaccine still provides some protection.
Flu vaccines can be trivalent or quadrivalent.
A trivalent vaccine protects 3 influenza viruses:
A quadrivalent vaccine protects against the same three viruses as the trivalent vaccine, plus coverage against another influenza B virus.
The influenza C virus is included in influenza vaccines.
There are several influenza viruses: A, B, C, and D.
Influenza types A, B, and C can cause illness in humans, but types A and B cause seasonal outbreaks of respiratory illness almost every year.
Influenza A is usually the cause of most flu season illnesses. It has the potential to cause pandemics due to its dynamic nature, faster evolution, and wide diversity of hosts.
Influenza A and B are incredibly contagious and cause the same type of illness and symptoms. Although there is no cure for the flu virus, antiviral medications, plenty of fluids, and rest can help your body fight the infection.
Yearly vaccination can also help you prevent contracting influenza A or B.
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