Why is there such a disease as the flu?

This disease, like the flu, where does and what happens with it after the pandemic cannot win?

To know these things is very important at least in order to understand how serious a risk is this virus:

1. This disease can strike for a short period a huge number of people (2 billion people).
2. The mortality rate in this disease is low, however, due to the fact that it is massive, each epidemic is taking the lives of thousands.
3. During epidemics of dying children and the elderly.
4. When outbreaks of influenza there is an increase in deaths from diseases of the cardiovascular system and respiratory tract, as his already weak body can not withstand large loads.

Thus, influenza is a dangerous virus, and it is very important to know at least basic things about what are its causes, how to fight with him, what should I do to avoid this disease.

Flu season

Scientists have long noticed that the flu is characterized by seasonality. In Russia it is distributed normally in the autumn and winter and fades closer to the summer. Where does and where does this virus every year? The fact is that he has the ability to travel. During the fall and winter flu migrates from the southern hemisphere to the North in spring and summer returns to the South. The epidemic usually lasts 1-3 months. In addition, the virus circulates continuously around the equator, where most often there are outbreaks of epidemics. Many scientists even believe that it is here and is the source of the flu.

However, a definite answer to the question of the origin of the flu, yet. It is believed that varieties occur in Asian countries. This is facilitated by population density, large number of children in families and way of life. The last factor plays a really important role because in most families in a very close neighborhood to live a variety of animals and people. That animals are not just carriers of the virus and a reservoir in which influenza mutates and appears in their new versions.

The propensity of the virus to mutate

Mutations are the key cause of influenza. It would seem that man, already ill with influenza, the disease a second time will not prevail against. However, many people the doctors again and again diagnosed with the flu. And the thing is that flu viruses are constantly evolyutsioniruet.

The researchers suggest that the flu affects not only humans but also animals. There are many types of influenza in pigs, horses,dolphins, other animals and different species of birds. All of these types circulating in animals, hybridize with each other, resulting in all new versions of the virus. There is an assumption that just new types of human influenza arise in the animal organism. This hypothesis is confirmed by two facts:

1. The flu has been found in animals, and then it is found in humans.
2. Usually flu epidemic in humans in parallel with epizootics similar viruses in animals.

The core of the flu virus is stable and almost never changes. But its outer membrane contains proteins that are susceptible to strong changes. The human body, when faced with these proteins, generates a very strong immunity that can protect it for years to come. However, due to the fact that proteins of influenza are not the same stable as its core, is constantly changing, the human body every time when faced with a new kind of this virus to develop a new immunity. And each new type of influenza can cause epidemics.

Thus, the main causes of flu are to change the protein structure of the virus. Science knows only two ways of changing the flu:

• antigenic drift when you change the structure of the influenza virus;
• antigenic shift, when the return of the old flu, or it appears a new variation of the with so strong changes that the human body cannot "recognize" her the previous modification and are susceptible to the virus.

Therefore, previously developed immunity against one variant of the flu will be very vulnerable to a new modification of the disease. So where does each new disease.

The collision of the virus with the human body

For the virus is not enough to have new, unfamiliar to the affected body modification. He should still be able to reproduce inside cells. This is possible if influenza proteins can interact with proteins in the cells of the human body. With this condition people can successfully avoid many of the epidemics, because not every virus such as avian influenza types are capable of such interaction inside the human body.

Scientists assert that the average person is exposed to such virus attacks at least twice a year and about 200 times throughout my life. Not all of these attacks provoke the development of the disease, but the body develops immunity against them, and sometimes even passes it and the offspring.

flu">If the virus manages to "infiltrate", the affected cell begins to produce viral proteins. It happens pretty quickly, and in 1-2 days the infection develops.

Outwardly it all looks a bit different. The main cause of flu in humans - contamination caused by airborne droplets when in contact with an already ill person. The virus enters the upper respiratory tract and begins interacting with the epithelial cells then in the blood.

The result in humans, symptoms of poisoning. And in airway mucous cell death, aktiviziruyutsya various microorganisms causing subsequent infections, such as pneumonia, bronchitis and even tuberculosis. That's when doctors report about the dangerous complications that can even lead to death. The cause of death of the patient may be different (depending on the patient's condition and the possible existence of chronic diseases). The most common cause of death is pneumonia caused by a virus, or caused by the weakening of the organism with bacterial pneumonia. That is why the flu I needed to go to the doctor and in any case not to carry the disease on their feet.

The fight against the flu

For many years, scientists studying the flu virus causes and ways to prevent infections. The invention of vaccines against each of the new virustype saves not all and not always.

It is known that, like all living organisms, the virus depends on temperature regimes. It multiplies very well with the figure at 33-39° C. it is not necessary to hope that at a high temperature in the human body, the flu virus will die - he nothing to worry about. It will ruin the figure at 65° C.

Die the virus can in an alkaline medium or acid, under the action of disinfectants and ether. Ultrasound and ultraviolet light also have a strong impact on him. Sometimes it is enough to irradiate room ultraviolet lamp for 30 minutes to kill the flu virus in the air.

To avoid contamination, each person is best regularly to carry out tempering procedures, ventilate and clean the room in which it is located, to wash their hands often with soap and avoid contact with sick people.

Also, do not allow overcooling of the body, so as not to reduce the effectiveness of interferon, an important component in the fight against this disease.

Thus, as long as scientists have not invented a universal remedy against flu, all people can use to prevent the known rules of a healthy lifestyle. Still it's better than lying in bed with a high fever.