Medicine & Health Corner

Posts Tagged ‘influenza’

Weather changes suddenly often make our endurance decreases, and becomes very susceptible to disease. If our immune system has decreased, the virus that causes the disease coughs, colds, and stomach upset such as diarrhea will easily approached and began to attack us.

Typically in such conditions, antibiotics are the key to overcoming disorders such diseases. When in fact, our body’s immune system has a mechanism that is used to counteract the factors or substances originating outside the body that can endanger our health.

Because of the dynamic nature of the immune and the virus could mutate, then we must have a healthy lifestyle in order to strengthen our body’s defenses. Especially at this time many emerging new diseases are dangerous, such as bird flu virus.

Flu is a disease caused by a viral infection that causes inflammation in our respiratory system. During this time, vitamin C is not only known as the belle of her vitamins, but many people use it as an antidote to treat colds and canker sores.

According to a study conducted by Dr. ever. Linus Pauling, it is known that vitamin C has the ability to inhibit viral particles in order not to spread through the cells and tissues. In addition, vitamin C also reduces the oxygen molecule ability to become free radicals and then destroy the virus nucleic acid.

When we look at the benefits we can get from the vitamins, it is not wrong if we start getting used to meet the need for vitamin C in our bodies with healthy lifestyle and always eat lots of fruit and vegetables that contain vitamin C, such as stone fruit guava, citrus , apples, peas, papaya and so forth.

Especially in the month of fasting, we need to prevent the flu came over, the way include: getting used to wash hands with soap, drinking lots of water, at least eight glasses a day. Try to avoid other people with flu, always keeping the immune system with enough rest, consumption of nutritious foods, exercise regularly and always meet the requirement of vitamin C.

One study in Hong Kong found that routine hand wash and wear masks can reduce the risk of influenza virus transmission among family members when implemented correctly.

The findings are published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine, and deemed important for the pandemic situation, when a number of patients should be quarantined in the house when the lack of hospital isolation room facilities.

“During the pandemic, the resources may not suffice to accommodate all the patients infected with flu, and quarantine methods will be needed at home,” write the researchers.

“The research we found that hand hygiene and use of masks can reduce the spread of virus when implemented as soon as possible after symptoms of disease began to appear on the first patient infected with the virus.”

Led by public health experts, Ben Cowling of the University of Hong Kong, the researchers are examining a number of patients who either have a positive influenza A or B.

Together with the patient family members, often from their previous entry in one of the following three groups: groups that have health education, a group that regularly wash hands, and a group of routine hand washing and wearing masks.

From the 259 households involved in the study, 60 households found infected with the virus in the period of seven days after the size-size is introduced. However, there are a few of the more in household where two suggestions have been always correctly.

“Hand hygiene and the mask seems to be able to prevent the spread of disease in the household when applied in the 36 hours of patients who experience symptoms of early disease,” write the researchers.

“The findings indicate that without the assistance of pharmacy it is important to reduce the pandemic influenza and interpandemi

Case swine flu, or influenza A H1N1 continue to increase in Indonesia. We recommend warning because the symptoms of this disease is increasing in the United States and Mexico.

Swine influenza, or “swine flu” is the first disease is acute infectious respiration in pigs caused one of the swine influenza viruses, including influenza virus type A subtype H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2.

Figures pain due to infection of the virus spread among pigs through the air, either with the contact directly and indirectly with pigs carrying the virus, the population tends to be high on the pig, but the mortality rate due to this disease is low, between 1-4 percent.

Swine flu outbreak in the population of animals is generally year-round, with increased incidence in autumn and cold. Based on the latest data issued by the Ministry of Health per 25 July 2009, positive cases of influenza A H1N1 is 19 cases, the patients consisted of 11 men and 8 women.

The people known to be derived from the six provinces of DKI Jakarta (3 cases), West Java (6 cases), Central Java (3 cases), East Java (3 cases), South Sulawesi (2 cases), two cases in which citizens foreign countries (WNA), which was reported to be in Bali.

“From the total cases, consisting of 17 WNI and 2 WNA. What has history to travel abroad as much as six people, including to Saudi Arabia, Australia, Netherlands, Japan, Morocco, and Singapore,” said Director General of Disease Control and Environmental Penyehatan MOH Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama SPP (K), MARS.

Therefore, until 25 July 2009, the cumulative cases of positive influenza A H1N1 in Indonesia amounted to 362 people, consisting of 204 men and 158 women.

Data based on cases the announcement date, ie June 24 (2 cases), June 29 (6), July 4 (12), July 7 (8), July 9 (24), 12 July (12), 13 July (22), July 14 (26), 15 July (30), July 16 (15), July 20 (15), July 22 (67), 23 July 2009 (83), and 24 July 2009 (21).

The number of provinces that have been found positive cases to this day there are 14 provinces, namely in Bali, Banten, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Kalimantan, Kepri, North Sulawesi, South Sumatra, North Sumatra, East Kalimantan , and South Sulawesi.

Of 21 cases mentioned above, a daughter aged six years were referred from a private hospital in Jakarta to a government hospital in Jakarta on 19 July 2009, a complaint with fever, cough, shortness of breath, and body weakness.

In care at the hospital, the patient continues to deteriorate and died on 22 July 2009. Children since a few years ago to crash the health and delayed development.

“Based on the results of the examination and treatment, image rays, and laboratory, the patient is suffering from pneumonia and the results of examination of Polymerase Chain Reaction show positive influenza A H1N1,” said Tjandra.

Influenza A H1N1 is transmitted through direct contact from human to human through coughing, sneezing, or objects that have been in contact with people, because it is spreading fast. However, the death in the world that is 0.4 percent lower. However, the public are requested to remain vigilant pandemic influenza A H1N1.

Some of the ways of prevention can be done, behave like living clean and healthy, that have a large contribution to participate in preventing transmission of infectious virus from human to human for the first time detected in Asia that occurred in South Korea this.

Behavior of them washing their hands with soap or antiseptic, and the ethical conduct of coughing and sneezing properly.

If there are symptoms of influenza drinking febrifuge, and does not use the mask to work, to school or to a place of rest and festivity in the house for five days. Based on the results of research the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia announced that the research team, the use of effective medical masks to protect the public face infectious disease outbreaks such as bird flu and swine flu.

Reports test results in clinical research team issued UNSW Public Relations Officer, Steve Offner, said the medical masks are also the most inexpensive way to protect society epidemic of swine flu and bird flu vaccine stock when none or very limited.
“The use of medical masks can also press the risk of various diseases,” said Offner. Tjandra order, if in two days of flu does not also improved, to flee to the doctor checks

Some day, people of the world including in Indonesia are upset by a news of the swine flu virus. Wow … I also cringe? While the bird flu have made only yesterday Indonesia panic people, including me. We find out what it is to go ahead swine flu? how it spread? What are the symptoms experienced when exposed to swine flu? and the last is how we do prevention of swine flu virus.

What is swine flu?

Swine flu is a type of influenza caused by H1N1 virus, previously known attack pigs. Swine flu virus H1N1 is the influenza A virus mutation and is usually found in Asia and Europe. How do viruses spread of swine flu?

Flu-infected pigs to humans each year and is usually found in people who come into contact with pigs, although it also found cases of transmission from human to human.

What are the symptoms experienced when exposed to swine flu?

Symptoms of flu virus infection of pigs include fever, stiffness in the joints, vomiting, loss of consciousness, which ended in death.

How do we know how the prevention of swine flu virus?

Avoid direct contact with pigs.
Because swine flu spread through the air and can also through direct contact with patients, and its incubation period of 3-5 days. Recommended for the community as well as cautious against bird flu. Maintain the behaviour of living clean and healthy, the nose and mouth when sneezing, washing hands with soap after the pro-activity, examined immediately and if the health of flu symptoms is to avoid the first stage of the swine flu virus.

Hopefully with the information about the swine flu at the top, all of us can be wary and avoid swine flu.

What is a pandemic?

A pandemic is an outbreak of a new infectious disease, which causes serious illness and spreads widely from person to person across more than one geographical region. HIV/Aids can thus be described as a pandemic illness — it emerged to infect many people relatively recently. Cancer cannot: it is not by and large caused by infection, and neither is it new.

How does a pandemic differ from an epidemic?

An epidemic occurs whenever the number of cases of a particular disease exceeds the number that would normally be expected. Epidemics of infectious disease can escalate into pandemics, but do not always do so.

Is swine flu going to cause a pandemic?

Probably. Professor Roy Anderson, a leading epidemiologist who is also Rector of Imperial College, London, said yesterday that he considers a pandemic is already under way — the question that remains is how serious it will be. Many scientists were saying the same thing privately even before the World Health Organisation raised the threat level to phase 5 on Wednesday, indicating that it considers a pandemic to be imminent.

How bad will it be?

We don’t know. The early indications are that the virus spreads easily, but is not especially lethal — at least outside Mexico. In the US, there have been 109 confirmed cases and only one fatality and that was a Mexican toddler who had travelled to the US after becoming infected. However, there have been too few infections confirmed to date for scientists to be confident about its virulence.

What will determine its course?

There are two crucial factors: the transmissibility of the virus, and its virulence. The first will determine how quickly flu will spread and how many people will become infected. The latter will determine how many people who are infected fall seriously ill or die.

How is virulence measured?

The key measure is the case fatality rate — the proportion of infected people who die. For the Spanish flu of 1918-19, this was about 2.5 per cent, while for the 1968 pandemic it was below 0.5 per cent. This explains the huge difference in the death tolls.

It has so far been impossible to establish the case fatality rate for swine flu with much reliability. To calculate it, you need to know the total number of infections as well as the total number of deaths, and reliable data on the Mexican outbreak is not available.

Even a low case fatality rate, of 0.1 per cent, would still be dangerous if the virus spreads very widely. If 40 per cent of the UK population became infected, as the worst-case scenarios suggest, there could be as many as 240,000 deaths.

How is transmissibility measured?

The measure here is the reproduction number, sometimes known as R. This is the average number of people that each person with the virus will infect. If R is greater than one, then the virus is spreading. If it is below one, then it is starting to peter out. The reproduction number can be affected by many factors: the biology of the virus, the level of immunity in the population, containment measures such as isolation, school closures and travel restrictions, and the use of antiviral treatments and vaccines.

Again, the reproduction number for swine flu remains unknown, though it is clearly above one. As epidemiologists establish its value over the coming days and weeks, they will develop a much better idea of the likely course of the pandemic.

Some scientists say they’re hoping for a “mild pandemic”. Isn’t this a contradiction in terms?

No. All pandemics are serious, but they do not necessarily have to feature very high levels of mortality. A disease can fulfil all the criteria of a pandemic without killing very large numbers of people — that is what is meant here by “mild”.

The 1968-9 flu pandemic is an example of a past event that is generally considered to be mild. It killed an estimated 1 million people worldwide — many more than the usual annual death toll for seasonal flu of 250,000 to 500,000, but many fewer than the 50 million who are thought to have died in the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19.

How does swine flu compare with avian flu as a pandemic threat?

The H1N1 swine flu virus is much more readily transmissible than the H5N1 avian virus — the latter has not yet developed the ability to pass readily from person to person. However, H5N1 is much more virulent. WHO figures show it has killed 257 of the 421 people infected so far — a case fatality rate of 61 per cent. If it were to become more transmissible, the resulting pandemic would almost certainly be a lot worse.

Have studies of the virus offered any clues to virulence?

Yes. Early indications are encouraging. Preliminary analysis suggests that it infects the upper part of the airway, which is generally a hallmark of less virulent viruses. It also appears to lack a protein that is involved in triggering extreme immune system responses known as cytokine storms, which are often the cause of death with highly pathogenic flu viruses such as the 1918 strain.

Source: timesonline.co.uk