The Influenza, commonly known as " flu ", is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by virus RNA family Orthomyxoviridae, or it is also known as the flu virus. The most common symptoms are chills, fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle aches, headache, cough, weakness, fatigue, and general malaise. It is common to say that you have the flu when in reality what you have is a common cold, which comes with symptoms similar to those of the flu but of a much less force than the flu or influenza. The flu is a more serious illness caused by a different type of virus. Influenza can cause nausea and vomiting, especially in children, but these symptoms are more common in related gastroenteritis, which is sometimes mistakenly referred to as " stomach flu " or "24-hour flu."
The flu can sometimes lead to pneumonia, direct viral pneumonia, or secondary bacterial pneumonia. These types of conditions can be controlled with the appropriate treatment, but in the case of bacterial pneumonia, the patient can relapse into an even greater complication. Constant vigilance must be applied to the patient.
The flu is usually spread through the air by coughing or sneezing. The flu can also be spread by direct contact with bird droppings or nasal secretions, or by contact with contaminated surfaces. Many types of flu can be deactivated thanks to some type of antibacterial detergent which acts as a protection.
La influenza tiene un comportamiento estacionario, salvo cuando esta se propaga y se convierte en pandemia, las gripes más peligrosas son las que se transmiten desde animales a seres humanos, el mundo en los últimos años ha tenido que sobrevivir a dos fuertes influenza que han matado a millones de seres humanos, nos referimos por supuesto a la gripe o influenza aviar (H5N1) y la más reciente que aún sigue azotando a países de Latinoamérica: la gripe o influenza porcina (H1N1). De estas influenzas ya se tiene desarrollada la vacuna, pero el acceso a esta se encuentra regulada por los gobiernos de los países más afectados, lo que dificulta su administración correcta y adecuada para poder controlar la situación.
