First, what is called influenza, influenza A and influenza A H1N1?
Influenza full name called “influenza”, is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza virus, mainly manifested as acute fever, headache, musculoskeletal pain in the limbs, cough and sore throat, etc.. According to historical records, influenza occurred as early as the fourth century B.C. It was called “Influenza” in Western countries, which means “devil”.
According to the structure and biological characteristics of the virus, scientists have divided the influenza virus into three types, named A, B and C, and according to the Chinese expression habits in mainland China, we are correspondingly called A, B and C types. In this way, if caused by influenza A virus we call it influenza A, and so on.
There are two important substances on the surface of influenza virus, one is called phytohemagglutinin (H) and the other is called neuraminidase (N). According to the different structural changes and biological characteristics of these two substances, we can also divide phytohemagglutinin into 15 types, which are numbered as H1~15, and neuraminidase into 9 types, which are numbered as N1~9.
Thus, we should fully understand what is called influenza A (H1N1).
The flu pandemic, initially known as “swine flu”, April 30, 2009, the WHO officially announced that the name changed to “A (H1N1) influenza.
Second, the flu and the “common cold”, “on the sense” what is the difference?
Influenza: caused by influenza virus infection, relatively speaking, more contagious, systemic symptoms are heavier, local symptoms are light.
Common cold: It is mainly caused by rhinovirus, followed by parainfluenza virus, adenovirus, Egyptian virus, coxsackievirus and respiratory syncytial virus, etc. It is often combined with bacterial infection. Relatively speaking, the contagiousness is low or even non-contagious, and the local symptoms are prominent, but the systemic symptoms are mild.
Upper respiratory tract infection: referred to as “upper respiratory tract infection”, is not a strict disease name. The respiratory tract is divided into the upper respiratory tract and the lower respiratory tract. The beginning of the respiratory tract, from the external nostril to the lower edge of the cricoid cartilage, including the nasal cavity, pharynx and larynx, is the upper respiratory tract, and below the trachea to the lungs is the lower respiratory tract. “The majority of infections are caused by viruses, and bacterial infections are often secondary to viral infections. The main clinical manifestations are fever, sore throat, cough and sputum, with varying degrees of severity.
3. What are the symptoms of influenza A?
Incubation period of about 1 to 7 days, mainly through the respiratory droplet transmission, does not exclude eye conjunctive membrane contact transmission.
Influenza A (H1N1) early symptoms similar to ordinary influenza, mainly manifested as fever, cough, sore throat, but the onset of more acute, more severe systemic symptoms, including fatigue, headache, skeletal muscle pain, some people will also appear diarrhea or vomiting, eye redness and other symptoms. Severe patients develop severe pneumonia, pulmonary hemorrhage, and respiratory failure secondary to the disease.
Most patients are cured within a week; the duration of illness may be longer in patients with underlying disease and severe illness. No sequelae are left and the overall morbidity and mortality rate is not high.
Why do we need a fever clinic?
The fever clinic is established for patients with acute fever, not for patients with chronic fever. Since 2003, the “SARS” epidemic, and successively human avian influenza and influenza A (H1N1) epidemic occurred, becoming a serious public health problem in many countries. These three infectious diseases are acute respiratory infectious diseases, are fever as a prominent manifestation, so in line with the principle of early detection, early diagnosis, early isolation, early treatment, China’s Ministry of Health in 2003 required public hospitals at all levels must set up fever clinics, whose main task is to screen for acute respiratory infectious diseases, effective isolation of suspected patients, timely treatment of patients, to prevent the spread of the epidemic to society and The main task is to screen for acute respiratory infections, isolate suspected patients effectively, treat patients promptly, and prevent the spread of the epidemic to the community.
V. How to prevent influenza A?
1. Wash hands regularly and develop good personal hygiene habits.
2.Sleep well, drink more water and keep healthy.
3.Keep indoor ventilation and go to less crowded and unventilated places.
4, correct understanding of the role of wearing a mask: ordinary masks do not shield the virus, but can protect the respiratory tract from the stimulation of cold air and reduce the spread of droplets.
5. Exercise more in general to enhance physical fitness.
6, once influenza-like symptoms (fever, cough, runny nose, etc.) appear, seek medical attention promptly, do not go to work or school, and minimize contact with others
7.Avoid contact with patients with influenza-like symptoms.
8, vaccination is an effective means of preventing influenza A (H1N1), but also safe. However, those who have the following circumstances cannot be vaccinated: those who are allergic to eggs or egg products; those who are allergic to the ingredients in the vaccine; those with other severe allergies; those who have suffered from Grimballi syndrome; those with acute fever, acute infections, and patients with acute attacks of chronic diseases, to be vaccinated after recovering from the disease.