basic+flu+information


 * symptoms
 * high fever
 * chills
 * dry cough
 * head ache
 * sore throat
 * runny nose
 * muscle and joint pain
 * extreme fatigue that lats for several days and several weeks


 * spread
 * coughing
 * sneezing
 * indirect contact with virus particles
 * direct contact with virus particles
 * breathing in the virus particles
 * what is the flu
 * the flu is a virus of the nose, throat and lungs
 * it is one of the most severe viruses of the winter season
 * it is highly contagious
 * it is not a cell
 * it is very small- much smaller than cells
 * the virus can get inside the cell
 * the flu virus comes in different shapes and sizes
 * not uniform im shape
 * some are round- some long- they form all sorts of different shapes
 * different types- all an RNA virus
 * infects the cells in your lungs- the virus is able to identify the lung cells because they have receptors that are different from other cells- these lung receptors only fit with the proteins on the virus (like a lock and key)- the virus is only able to attach to the lung cells.
 * types A and B viruses cause epidemics of this disease almost every winter
 * getting the flu shot can prevent types A and B but not always C
 * influenza A virus are found in chickens, ducks, pigs, whales, horses, and seals
 * B virus is mostly found in humans
 * how does the flu change?
 * the viruses that infect us also infect pigs
 * there are "swine" pigs that have this virus- people who work with these pigs can get the virus
 * each year we get this virus from the pigs and then it starts to spread around the world
 * pig mostly in Asia
 * the infected animals are able to get human influenza and the bird flu- these two viruses could merge in the pig and they would then pass the new virus on to people
 * flu general
 * the flu is a virus that is easily spread
 * the virus can cause deaths to young children and adults 65 and older
 * each year 34,000 people in the U.S. die because of the flu... most are 65 or older- more people die from the flu than from any other vaccination preventable disease
 * the virus is highly contagious and very serious
 * in the U.S. influenza puts about 2000,000 people in the hospital each year
 * children younger than 2 are as likely to be hospitalized as adults who are 65 or older
 * anyone is at the risk of getting the flu virus