Influenza: Difference between revisions
imported>Supten Sarbadhikari No edit summary |
imported>Derek Harkness (Added some info about the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918) |
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In 2007, a horse flu epidemic began in New South Wales, Australia. The outbreak is believed to have begun as a result of infractions of proper [[quarantine]] procedure and is expected to cost millions of dollars in lost revenue. As of September, 2007, it had spread to the Victorian border, causing the cancellation of events at the [[Royal Melbourne Show|Melbourne Show]], and the possibility that the Spring Carnival, including the running of the [[Melbourne Cup]] horse race, would be cancelled. | In 2007, a horse flu epidemic began in New South Wales, Australia. The outbreak is believed to have begun as a result of infractions of proper [[quarantine]] procedure and is expected to cost millions of dollars in lost revenue. As of September, 2007, it had spread to the Victorian border, causing the cancellation of events at the [[Royal Melbourne Show|Melbourne Show]], and the possibility that the Spring Carnival, including the running of the [[Melbourne Cup]] horse race, would be cancelled. | ||
==Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918== | |||
A pandemic of Spanish Influenza swept across Europe in the wake of the Great War (1918-19). More people are believed to have died of the flu in the year after the war then in the Great War itself. Estimates vary but it is estimated that one third of the world's population were infected and up to 50 million people perished in this pandemic (it is possibly that fatalities world wide were as high as 100 million).<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no01/05-0979.htm</ref> Some comparisons are drawn between Spanish Flu and the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) of 1347 to 1351. Estimates are that the flu killed more people in one year than plague did in four. | |||
==Bird Flu== | ==Bird Flu== | ||
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*[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genomes/FLU/flubiology.html Influenza Virus Resource] at the [[NCBI]] | *[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genomes/FLU/flubiology.html Influenza Virus Resource] at the [[NCBI]] | ||
==References== | |||
<references /> | |||
[[Category:CZ Live]] | [[Category:CZ Live]] | ||
Revision as of 09:48, 5 September 2007
Influenza, commonly called “the ‘Flu”, is a common viral infectious disease. That means that It is contagious (easily passed from one person to another) and is caused by a virus.
Influenza in humans
Symptoms of Influenza include headache, coughing and other cold-like symptoms. These are accompanied by a high fever. The flu is easily treated with modern medicines, but many strains are nevertheless quite serious, particularly for children and older persons.
There have been several worldwide Flu epidemics, resulting in millions of deaths.
Equine Influenza
This is a species-specific strain that infects horses, ponies, donkeys and mules. Humans do not catch this disease but are carriers of it. It is airborne and highly contagious. Equine influenza generally does not kill its victims, and affected horses display similar symptoms to those of humans.
In 2007, a horse flu epidemic began in New South Wales, Australia. The outbreak is believed to have begun as a result of infractions of proper quarantine procedure and is expected to cost millions of dollars in lost revenue. As of September, 2007, it had spread to the Victorian border, causing the cancellation of events at the Melbourne Show, and the possibility that the Spring Carnival, including the running of the Melbourne Cup horse race, would be cancelled.
Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918
A pandemic of Spanish Influenza swept across Europe in the wake of the Great War (1918-19). More people are believed to have died of the flu in the year after the war then in the Great War itself. Estimates vary but it is estimated that one third of the world's population were infected and up to 50 million people perished in this pandemic (it is possibly that fatalities world wide were as high as 100 million).[1] Some comparisons are drawn between Spanish Flu and the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) of 1347 to 1351. Estimates are that the flu killed more people in one year than plague did in four.
Bird Flu
External links
- Influenza at CDC
- Influenza at World Health Organization
- Health encyclopedia entry at NHS Direct
- BioHealthBase Bioinformatics Resource Center Database of influenza sequences and related information.
- Overview of influenza at MedicineNet
- Orthomyxoviridae The Universal Virus Database of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses
- Influenza Virus Resource at the NCBI