Why is there a flu season?!
Question: Why is there a flu season!?
Flu is a virus, spread through sneezes and coughs!. The cause of the sneezes and coughs is the flu!.
So why do we have a 'flu season' starting about now!. Why get immunised for winter!? Surely the weather makes no difference to the flu!?Www@Answer-Health@Com
So why do we have a 'flu season' starting about now!. Why get immunised for winter!? Surely the weather makes no difference to the flu!?Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
A lot of people had parts of the answer or were close!.
1!. Viruses mutate all the time!.
2!. The Virus that are responsible for the flu do survive better in colder climate or colder times!.
3!. The new strains are exported from other nations!. Some nations have their own unique strains and others keep producing new ones, namely in Southeast Asia!.
4!. Drug companies produce the flu vaccine each year for the start of fall, they could produce it at anytime, but they need time to detect the new strains and isolate them!. They work on a yearly cycle so we have a flu season!. Last year's flu shot had more than one strain in it and the research was not as good as in previous years so that vaccine was not as good as previous versions and some people who got the shot still got infected!.
The flu is an illness that affects birds, humans and other animals, in the case of the bird flu it was especially lethal!. Normally a virus doesn't jump the species barrier and transfer to another species, but if you live with your livestock (as many people do in Southeast Asia and China) then you increase the chance that a flu strain common to birds would jump the barrier to infect humans!. The risk of the bird flu doing this was pretty great and so it was closely watched!.
There is no cure for the flu, the flu shots act by exposing the body's immune system to dead samples of the various strains!. The body recognizes them as foreign invaders and so configures its white blood cells to kill them!. It remembers this configuration for many years and if exposed to a variation of the flu that it recognizes then it can quickly configure itself to attack and so destroy the strain!. But, once a person is infected then there is no way to kill the virus other than to hope the person's own immune system is up to the job!.
In the case of the bird flu many young healthy people were becoming very sick and a few died, meaning that it if got into the general population a lot of elderly and already sick people would be in trouble!. Luckily, this strain never developed into an airborne version and it remained confined to Asia!.
Each year after summer the virus becomes more active and a new strain develops; the virus constantly evolves to try and beat the immune system of the hosts that it infects, otherwise it would become extinct!. In Southeast Asia the animal strains get added to the mix, so a mutation is more likely to develop!. It can happen in Africa or in other areas, but it is MORE likely to happen in Southeast Asia!. When it does then the virus infects the host and infects other people that the host meets!. With airline travel this means that there can be a lot of people who get infected quite quickly that is what makes the flu such a problem!.
Flu strains are incubated inside of chicken eggs so if you have an allergy to chicken eggs then a flu shot may be an unwise move for you; otherwise it is an excellent idea to get a flu shot!. The virus examples injected are dead so they can't make your body sick, and they produce antibodies that can handle the disease if you get infected!. Flu strains can travel between hosts by direct contact and sometimes by air, usually when a person sneezes on something!.
The flu is around all the time and a new strain can infect you at any time, it is just likely to survive in the air or on surfaces longer in a colder climate, so fall and winter times are when the flu is more likely to breed and infect a large segment of the population!.
The main reason why we have an annual flu season is because the drug companies work in a one year cycle and plan on trying to treat the population just before winter sets in when the flu is reported to be at its most infectious!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
1!. Viruses mutate all the time!.
2!. The Virus that are responsible for the flu do survive better in colder climate or colder times!.
3!. The new strains are exported from other nations!. Some nations have their own unique strains and others keep producing new ones, namely in Southeast Asia!.
4!. Drug companies produce the flu vaccine each year for the start of fall, they could produce it at anytime, but they need time to detect the new strains and isolate them!. They work on a yearly cycle so we have a flu season!. Last year's flu shot had more than one strain in it and the research was not as good as in previous years so that vaccine was not as good as previous versions and some people who got the shot still got infected!.
The flu is an illness that affects birds, humans and other animals, in the case of the bird flu it was especially lethal!. Normally a virus doesn't jump the species barrier and transfer to another species, but if you live with your livestock (as many people do in Southeast Asia and China) then you increase the chance that a flu strain common to birds would jump the barrier to infect humans!. The risk of the bird flu doing this was pretty great and so it was closely watched!.
There is no cure for the flu, the flu shots act by exposing the body's immune system to dead samples of the various strains!. The body recognizes them as foreign invaders and so configures its white blood cells to kill them!. It remembers this configuration for many years and if exposed to a variation of the flu that it recognizes then it can quickly configure itself to attack and so destroy the strain!. But, once a person is infected then there is no way to kill the virus other than to hope the person's own immune system is up to the job!.
In the case of the bird flu many young healthy people were becoming very sick and a few died, meaning that it if got into the general population a lot of elderly and already sick people would be in trouble!. Luckily, this strain never developed into an airborne version and it remained confined to Asia!.
Each year after summer the virus becomes more active and a new strain develops; the virus constantly evolves to try and beat the immune system of the hosts that it infects, otherwise it would become extinct!. In Southeast Asia the animal strains get added to the mix, so a mutation is more likely to develop!. It can happen in Africa or in other areas, but it is MORE likely to happen in Southeast Asia!. When it does then the virus infects the host and infects other people that the host meets!. With airline travel this means that there can be a lot of people who get infected quite quickly that is what makes the flu such a problem!.
Flu strains are incubated inside of chicken eggs so if you have an allergy to chicken eggs then a flu shot may be an unwise move for you; otherwise it is an excellent idea to get a flu shot!. The virus examples injected are dead so they can't make your body sick, and they produce antibodies that can handle the disease if you get infected!. Flu strains can travel between hosts by direct contact and sometimes by air, usually when a person sneezes on something!.
The flu is around all the time and a new strain can infect you at any time, it is just likely to survive in the air or on surfaces longer in a colder climate, so fall and winter times are when the flu is more likely to breed and infect a large segment of the population!.
The main reason why we have an annual flu season is because the drug companies work in a one year cycle and plan on trying to treat the population just before winter sets in when the flu is reported to be at its most infectious!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
The answer is because every year, the flu virus mutates just a little bit!.
Once you get the flu, your body is good and can battle that certain type of virus!. It knows its name, the virus has been tagged in your system and your body responds to the threat!.
But when the flu virus mutates, it changes just enough so that it confuses your body!. Is this new thing enemy or friend!?
This is why Bird Flu is such a concern!. The last great pandemic of the flu virus happened in 1918!. That's quite a while ago, speaking in terms of pandemics!. Some people say we're long overdue for another one to hit us!.
1918 - the new strain was Spanish Flu!. I did some horrible damage!. But every year, the flu virus mutates just a little bit and we come closer to another new pandemic of flu!.
Get your flu shot, my friend!. It won't protect you against future strains, but can improve your chances!. ;)
The flu virus doesn't know what season it is!. It doesn't have calendars like we do!. The reason it has a season at all is because the air is colder and the virus is able to stay suspended in the air longer!. Best wishes!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Once you get the flu, your body is good and can battle that certain type of virus!. It knows its name, the virus has been tagged in your system and your body responds to the threat!.
But when the flu virus mutates, it changes just enough so that it confuses your body!. Is this new thing enemy or friend!?
This is why Bird Flu is such a concern!. The last great pandemic of the flu virus happened in 1918!. That's quite a while ago, speaking in terms of pandemics!. Some people say we're long overdue for another one to hit us!.
1918 - the new strain was Spanish Flu!. I did some horrible damage!. But every year, the flu virus mutates just a little bit and we come closer to another new pandemic of flu!.
Get your flu shot, my friend!. It won't protect you against future strains, but can improve your chances!. ;)
The flu virus doesn't know what season it is!. It doesn't have calendars like we do!. The reason it has a season at all is because the air is colder and the virus is able to stay suspended in the air longer!. Best wishes!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
People tend to come into more contact with each other in winter, because they are indoors most of the time!. Cold winter weather can bring on flue like symptoms like runny noses!. If the person is already carrying a flue virus, they may not be sick but is passing the germs anyway!. There are just a much higher chance of getting sick in the winter because of the proximity to one another!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Indeed it does my friend!.
cold weather aids in the transmission of viruses!. also when we are cold a portion of our bodies energy goes to warming us up and it takes away some of the energy and attention off the immune system which could cause our bodies to be slightly more susceptible to getting sick!.
Most bacteria type disease get passed around in the warm humid months!. I also agree with ms hk!.!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
cold weather aids in the transmission of viruses!. also when we are cold a portion of our bodies energy goes to warming us up and it takes away some of the energy and attention off the immune system which could cause our bodies to be slightly more susceptible to getting sick!.
Most bacteria type disease get passed around in the warm humid months!. I also agree with ms hk!.!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
no not directly, but when the weather is nasty, as it is in the winter, more people are inside, in closer contact, thus the viruses are more readily spread!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Because the sea weedWww@Answer-Health@Com
Viruses thrive in cold!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
the weather wears down our immune system so we are more prone to diseases!!Www@Answer-Health@Com