Influenza can be prevented in several different manners. Good hygiene and scrupulous washing of one's hands can help to prevent many of the infections that could occur. Another major way to prevent being infected by the influenza virus is to receive a flu shot. These annual shots help to build antibodies against certain influenza. Because of antigenic drift, the flu virus rapidly changes and in order to stay immune people have to receive annual shots. Scientists try to predict what strains will be present during a flu season and they put those strains into the vaccine. If they are wrong, it will render many people defenseless against a certain strain of the virus. Currently, there are three influenza strains in the vaccine, but a fourth has recently appeared which was not included in the vaccine.
The influenza vaccine has been found to be seventy to ninety percent effective in healthy people. In the elderly it is not quite as effective at preventing influenza as it is to reducing the symptoms that occur. The elderly who are vaccinated are less likely to be hospitalized or become severely ill with another secondary infection.
Another way to reduce the chances of getting type A influenza is through a process called chemoprophylaxis. In this case the term chemoprophylaxis means the taking of antiviral drugs in the reduce the risk of infection. Although this practice is not utilized very often because it can cause antiviral drug-resistant strains of influenza, it is used to help high risk patients. The most common antiviral drugs are SYMMETREL and FLUMADINE. SYMMETREL is made of amantadine hydrochloride and FlUMADINE is made of rimantadine. Both drugs attack the M2 protein in the virus and inhibit its ability to lower the pH in host cells.
There is not much a person can do once he or she contracts the virus. The symptoms of influenza can be treated to ease the suffering of the infected person. If the person is infected with type A influenza he can take one of the aforementioned drugs to reduce the duration of infection.
SYMMETREL AND FLUMADINE are registered trademarks.
email: David Zage