Signs and Symptoms of Influenza
Influenza (or the ‘flu’) is a viral infection that is transmitted person to person via airborne ‘droplets’, tiny particles of fluid that are expelled into the air, or onto a surface when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
It affects the respiratory tract, the nose, throat and lungs. It is highly contagious and is attributed to around 3000 deaths in Australia per year. Some flu seasons, like that we experienced in 2017 are worse than other years. This can be attributed to the strains of flu virus that are most prevalent in the community and changes or ‘mutations’ in these virus strains. Viruses are constantly changing, in an attempt to subvert the immune system. Strains of virus that are more successful at this, become dominant and spread. Annual flu vaccines contain three or four of the most prevalent strains for that particular flu season and provide excellent protection against infection but they cannot provide immunity against all strains, or strains that have mutated.
