How does the flu kill people??

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · May 1, 2009

When I was growing up, the flu wasn't a "killer". You got the flu, got sick and some chills, maybe vomiting, and got over it. But it seems nowadays that it had been labeled so deadly that we need vaccines for it every year.

Part of the problem is what people used to label as the "flu" often really was not truly influenza, but a "cold" or some other viral illness.

The only way to truly know whether what was truly the "flu" was truly influenza, is to test for it, and how often do all of those calling in with the "flu" actually get tested for it, much less test positive.

Much like pneumonia or bronchitis, the severity of the illness is actually more dependant on the causative microbe than on "bronchitis" or "pneumonia", terms that get tossed around a lot.

Influenza also includes a large number of similar but with some variations viruses. Because of their physical makeup, this group of viruses tend to mutate and alter themselves faster than most, and this alteration make it difficult to have vaccinations keep up with all the variants. This is why you get the vaccine yearly - the immunity does not "wear off" but the virus itself changes constantly. Some of these variants are likely to make one sicker than others.

Swine flu was around in the 1970's (yes, I was alive then), and the vaccine for it then was very problematic. A disproportionate number of people developed serious complications from it and that kept it from being used widely. But the disease itself faded. This new variant - there is not an effective vaccine for it.

Influenzas spread rapidly and easily. This particular one is showing an affinity for killing in the 18-50 year old range. When ID groups see this, it is a poor progonostic indicator for a pandemic.

While you may not have perceived that flu is a killer in your lifetime, that is probably due to our ability to update vaccines and better ID/healthcare. In the old days, influenza was a major killer. Please google the "Spanish Flu", basically a modern day (1917-1919) "Black Death" that killed millions beyond the deathes just from WWI. The flu epidemic alos killed large numbers of the realitively young - including servicemen that survived the war just to be killed by a virus. The increased mobility of people actually spread the disease world wide, unlike prior disease outbreaks. This is what worries the ID department.

Go out to most older graveyards - you will often see a spike in the number of graves from 1917-1920, especially among babies and children.

allnurses Guide · May 1, 2009

let the man say what he says without airlines and the wh editorizing it! he's an adult. he was giving his opinion. the white house makes him look like he is stupid and can't say anything without the wh imprimater (sp)!!

joe makes himself look stupid. he even admits it - but also won't stop talking.

"the obama administration forgot the first rule in a crisis: never send vice president joe biden to calm people's fears.. . . . . . .during a television interview thursday, biden had a recurrence of his trademark foot-in-mouth disease when he said he had warned members of his own family that -- while some people are steering clear of mexico -- they should be extra cautious and not get on airplanes altogether or, for that matter, go into any "confined places" where germs could spread. . . . . ."

"you don't know whether to laugh or cry. recognizing that biden could create a panic and cripple the airline industry, biden spokeswoman elizabeth alexander went into damage control mode and put out a statement that read, "the advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving to all americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from mexico. if they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways."

"how sad. that's not what biden said. his comments weren't limited to mexico, and he wasn't talking about what people should do "if they are sick." it was about what you should do if someone else is sick. so, the administration's response initially was basically, "are you going to believe us or your own lying ears?" . . . .

"it's there that at least 2,500 people may have been infected. mexican authorities also suspect that 159 deaths have resulted from the infection, although only a small number of cases -- less than a dozen -- have been confirmed. and in most of those cases, it wasn't the flu that was fatal but some another illness that took advantage of a weakened immune system caused by the h1n1 flu.. . ."

"and by all means, for the sake of beleaguered pig farmers who are bound to take a serious economic hit before this is over, let's keep referring to it that way. the real significance of biden's boneheaded comments is that they help feed the national hysteria over the virus formerly known as swine flu. . ."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/politics/05/01/navarrette.biden.flu/

there is a national hysteria over this . . . and the media and joe poured gas on an already burning fire.

steph

psalm, RN · May 1, 2009

I'd like to clarify my point of letting Biden say what he says without having the WH etc translate for us.

He appears (I am being kind) to have difficulty making himself understood, and appears to bumble whatever he says...or lots of what he says. But he is an adult and he did get across that people shouldn't be in confined spaces. For that we can thank him. How I wish many of my immunocompromised patients would adhere to common-sense practices.

prmenrs, RN · May 1, 2009

I searched wikipedia for H1N1 and found this paragraph:

"....The Spanish flu caused an unusual number of deaths because it may have caused a cytokine storm in the body.[5][6] (The recent epidemic of bird flu, also an Influenza A virus, had a similar effect.)[7] The Spanish flu virus infected lung cells, leading to overstimulation of the immune system via release of cytokines into the lung tissue. This leads to extensive leukocyte migration towards the lungs, causing destruction of lung tissue and secretion of liquid into the organ. This makes it difficult for the patient to breathe. In contrast to other pandemics, which mostly kill the old and the very young, the 1918 pandemic killed unusual numbers of young adults, which may have been due to their healthy immune systems being able to mount a very strong and damaging response to the infection.[3]...."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H1N1

Hope that helps!

allnurses Guide · May 2, 2009

I'd like to clarify my point of letting Biden say what he says without having the WH etc translate for us.
He appears (I am being kind) to have difficulty making himself understood, and appears to bumble whatever he says...or lots of what he says. But he is an adult and he did get across that people shouldn't be in confined spaces. For that we can thank him. How I wish many of my immunocompromised patients would adhere to common-sense practices.

I completely agree that the WH shouldn't try to remake Biden's remarks. :up:

Here locally, as I'm sure is true across the nation, people are panicking over false information and that is frustrating as a nurse.

Someone in the local supermarket's meat section remarked that he wouldn't be buying any pork and he was serious.

steph

leslie :-D · May 2, 2009

I'd like to clarify my point of letting Biden say what he says without having the WH etc translate for us.
He appears (I am being kind) to have difficulty making himself understood, and appears to bumble whatever he says...or lots of what he says. But he is an adult and he did get across that people shouldn't be in confined spaces. For that we can thank him. How I wish many of my immunocompromised patients would adhere to common-sense practices.

psalm, if you're the poster who said joe was a "lovable windbag", i wholeheartedly agree.

he is genuinely (and genuine) a nice, nice person, and get a little irritated when the media et al, point fingers at him for speaking his personal opinion.

it's not as if he delivered his personal, cautionary tales with pressured speech and clenched fists.

nor did he imply that these were official recommendations.

it was clear that it was his personal opinion.

IF he did any damage (which we don't know), then i'm sure it's from those folks who were/are on hyperalert anyways.

it's the media that is sensationalizing his supposed faus pas...

and sadly, there are folks who are easily influenced by whatever the media proclaims.

my goodness...

maybe it's true:

that nice guys do finish last.

leslie