Influenza – Overview

Transcript

Influenza is a disease caused by a family of viruses, also called influenza. The flu is a serious viral infection that kills hundreds of thousands of people every year. The virus usually infects the nose, throat, and lungs and will cause symptoms in most of the rest of the body. The most common symptoms are fevers, chills, and sweats, runny nose and sneezing, sore throat, cough, trouble breathing, and severe body aches. You can also experience nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, but these symptoms are more common in children. Each year, a different form of influenza is most prevalent in our communities. This means that being infected once doesn’t necessarily protect you from future infections. Influenza is primarily a respiratory infection and affects the nose, throat, and lungs. The stomach flu is a separate viral syndrome and is not often caused by influenza. Most influenza infections will include headache, fevers, chills, and muscle aches. The most common symptoms are runny nose, sneezing, sore throat and cough, sinus congestion, ear ache, and swollen nodes may also occur. Less commonly, people experience abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.