First of all, the ‘flu virus is responsible for influenza, a viral upper respiratory illness that hospitalizes up to 200,000 and kills about 36,000 people in the USA each year.

The flu is different from other viral upper respiratory illness. The common cold does not produce the fever and horrible body aches and pains that is associated with the flu. In fact, the sudden onset of the illness is one of its hallmarks. Those most at risk for dying from the illness are the very young, the elderly and those whose immune systems are compromised. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that between 5% and 20% of people become infected annually during the flu season, which is from November to March.

So what exactly is the flu virus? The virus is classified by its protein structure: hemagluttinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). The first protein, HA, enables the virus to penetrate the host cell while NA enables the virus to exit the cell once it has replicated.

What makes a virus particularly dangerous is its ability to cross-infect different species. The influenza virus is a great example of this. There are 3 types of flu virus: Types A, B and C. Type A infects many animals including pigs, birds, whales, and humans. Type B is transmitted between humans and Type C only causes minor respiratory infections despite being found in dogs, pigs and humans. Type A is the one scientists worry about because it is the most virulent and can cross species.

Each year scientists get together to determine the three most common Type A influenza viruses. Vaccines are then made to protect people against these three strains that are most likely to cause an epidemic.

Because children get the flu more than adults, it’s quite easy for whole families to become infected. If you have young children or you’re in contact with elderly people or if you suffer from a chronic illness such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, etc, then it is really important for you to get the flu vaccine each year.

To find out more about the flu vaccine, incubation periods, and signs and symptoms, check out my article entitled “Flu Vaccine for Flu Prevention – 5 Facts You Should Know”.

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