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- Symptoms of flu are similar to those of a bad cold – runny nose, sore throat and cough – but in addition, people with the flu usually experience headache, fever, muscle aches and fatigue.
- Flu spreads easily from person to person. Coughing, sneezing and even just breathing help spread the flu virus.
- If you have the flu you can spread the virus before you even realize you're sick. Many people will not experience symptoms of the flu for up to five days after exposure.
- Neither antibiotics nor penicillin will cure the flu.
- Over-the-counter medications may relieve symptoms of flu. The National Institute for Allergies & Infectious Diseases recommends acetaminophen (Tylenol) for children; aspirin or acetaminophen for adults. Decongestants, cough suppressants, and use of a humidifier can also provide symptomatic relief.
Flu Vaccines
- The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports the flu vaccine is usually 70 to 90 percent effective for combating the flu.
- The CDC recommends that people start getting vaccinated in October or November.
- Because the strain of flu that affects people the most changes every year, a flu vaccine must also change every year to protect people against new strains or the strains most likely to cause illness each year.
Avian flu ("bird flu")
- The deadly strain of influenza virus currently found in Southeast Asia is known as the H5N1 strain. It can pass from birds to humans, but cannot yet pass from human to human.
- Experts fear that if the H5N1 virus mutates to a form that does pass from human to human, it could set off an international pandemic.
- There is no vaccine yet available for the H5N1 virus, but several companies in the U.S. and Europe are racing to develop one.
Pandemic flu
- A pandemic is a global disease outbreak.
- A flu pandemic occurs when a new form of the flu emerges for which people have little or no immunity. This new form of the flu often spreads rapidly and is usually resistant to any flu vaccines developed in the past.
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