Assignment about Influenza Infection

Running head: INFLUENZA INFECTION
INFLUENZA INFECTION
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Authors note:

INFLUENZA INFECTION1
Table of Contents
PART 1 (The Enemy – Microbes): 2
PART 2: Infection and Transmission of Disease: 2
PART 3: Immune response: 3
Part 4: clinical manifestation: 3
PART 5 (The Victory – Diagnosis, Treatment, and Control) 3

INFLUENZA INFECTION2
PART 1 (The Enemy – Microbes):
Influenza viruses referred to significant human respiratory pathogens that affected more
than 1 million people every year. Sullivan et al. (2017), highlighted that in Australia,
approximately 52000 cases of flu were reported in 2018 where 1137 deaths were observed. The
influenza virus is a member of Orthomyxoviridae. It is single-stranded, negative-sense and
segmented RNA virus which is differentiated based on two viral envelop protein haemagglutinin
and neuraminidase (Smith et al. 2019). Four genera of this family present in nature whereas only
genera A and B are clinically relevant for humans as these two viruses have the potential
virulence factor for infecting disease (Smith et al. 2019). The biological factor such as antigenic
shift and drift are the reason behind infection. Children less than 5 years, older adults over 65
years and people with the weak immune system are the biological factors behind the infection.
Considering social factors, poor sanitizations and hygiene of the people living in disadvantaged
areas crucial contributing factors behind the emergence of disease (Orr et al. 2016). Considering
economic factors, individuals with low economic status failed to receive adequate health care
access and live in poor sanitization while they are infected with the virus which further gives rise
to the infection.
PART 2: Infection and Transmission of Disease:
Individuals with the flu can transmit the infection up to others within their 6feet away.
Three ways of transmission include direct contact with infected individuals, indirect contact with
contaminated things and through inhalation of virus-containing aerosols (Orr et al. 2016).
Infected aerosols enter to the mouths as noses of people who are nearby and infect the respiratory
tract.