Facts to Know

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1. Influenza, or the flu, is a viral disease of the respiratory tract—the nose, throat, bronchial tubes and lungs. It's similar to a cold in that both are caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract, mainly in the winter season, and both can cause symptoms such as coughing and sore throat. A cold is a minor viral infection of the nose and throat, and its primary symptoms are nasal stuffiness, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat and cough. Influenza is a more serious infection, and its major symptoms are high fever, severe aches and pains, cough with mucus production, tiredness and weakness. The flu symptoms appear within one to four days of exposure and are much more severe than those of a cold.

2. The flu is highly contagious and is spread though airborne droplets of moisture produced when someone with the flu coughs or sneezes. When you breathe in these germs, you may come down with the flu, generally within one to four days of being exposed.

3. Influenza outbreaks sweep quickly through a community, affecting approximately five to 20 percent of Americans annually, although rates of infection vary among age groups and from one season to another, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

4. On average, approximately 36,000 Americans die from the flu each year, according to the CDC.

5. For the 2007-2008 flu season, the CDC recommended that the following groups of people be given top priority for receiving a flu vaccine:

   • children from age two to adults 50 years and older

   • people of any age who have chronic medical conditions, especially respiratory conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis or emphysema

   • all women who are or will be pregnant during the influenza season

   • nursing home and long-term care facility populations

   • children age six to 59 months

   • health care workers involved in direct patient care

   • household contact and out-of-home caregivers of children younger than six months

   Ask your health care professional for more information about restrictions and availability of flu vaccine or visit the CDC's Web site: http://www.cdc.gov.

6. Smoking can increase your risk for the flu and complications from the flu, because smoking injures your airways and damages the cilia, tiny hair-like structures that help keep the airways clear.

7. The most serious, often life-threatening complication of the flu is pneumonia. Other complications include ear infection, bronchitis, dehydration and worsening of chronic conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma or diabetes. Croup and a lung disease called bronchiolitis can develop as complications in infants and young children.

8. The influenza virus changes its genetic makeup from year to year, which means that each year you're likely exposed to a new virus. That's why you can get the flu every year, and why a flu vaccine is recommended annually. Vaccines, which are made with killed or inactivated virus or viral fragments of those strains, work by forcing the immune system to make antibodies that fight circulating strains of influenza.

9. A flu vaccination is your best chance to protect yourself against the flu. It has a 70 percent to 90 percent success rate in healthy adults and children, according to the CDC.

10. The nasal mist flu vaccine, FluMist, is also available from your health care professional. It is recommended for children at least age two and adults up to the age of 49. It is effective in preventing influenza types A and B.

11. There is something you can do about the flu. Prescription antiviral medications, such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) can be used to treat and prevent the flu if used within 12 to 48 hours of symptom onset or exposure to the virus.