Results tagged “1918” from HAWT action [hot ak-shuhn]

Disease: Influenza

By John de Guzman on July 30, 2008 1:30 PM | | Comments (2) | | | |
Humans will always battle diseases.  Whether the common cold or Ebola, diseases have caused everything from headaches to the decimation of a populations.  I will pay homage to their daily influence on our lives by exploring them in this series.  Check out how fascinating they are.

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Disease: Influenza (Flu)
First Record: 4th century B.C.E.
Mortality Rate: <1%
Estimated Deaths: Unknown historically, but I estimate over 130 million
Main Method of Transfer: Bodily fluids and airborne
Form: Virus

Influenza, known as the flu, is one of the biggest killers of man.  Unlike other diseases that have had diminishing impact on mankind over time (i.e., polio, bubonic plague, tetanus), influenza is as prolific and (almost) as threatening as ever.  Why?  Because it comes in thousands of variants, it mutates very quickly and it is transferred through the air.  See, if it's transferred via waterways, like cholera, or via fleas/rodents, like the bubonic plague, there are ways to fight the spread of an outbreak.  But via air and body fluids?  That's almost impossible.  In fact, influenza's very symptoms are the reason it's been so successful.  It's the perfectly evolved disease.

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