Influenza A

Influenza A General Information

Influenza is a common infectious disorder (also known as flu), that affects both mammals and birds. Its presence (development) is due to a couple of viruses that are known to belong to the Orthomyxoviridae family; the viruses that cause this medical disorder are known as the RNA viruses. The name of this disease derives from an Italian term that has the same spelling – it means “influence”, while in Latin, the term is influentia. We are now aware of 5 forms of the virus that is known to trigger this medical condition: type A, type B, type C, Thogotovirus and Isavirus.

Influenza A is caused by the type A virus. The consequences of this medical disorder in the case of human patients are much more severe (and also dangerous) than those that are generally caused by an ordinary cold. Weak and / or old individuals who present this medical condition are highly prone to experiencing the most severe (and sometimes even lethal) effects of this condition. The presence of this type of Influenza is known to be able to lead to the worsening of any existing chronic clinical disturbances. In most clinical cases it has been established that the disease (Influenza A) has been transmitted from infected patients through air (it is known that simple sneezes or coughs create aerosols that are more than enough to spread the disease as they are known to contain the RNS viruses). Other potential ways of transmission of the virus include: droppings of affected birds, faeces, blood, saliva, nasal secretions, and so on. Some individuals caught their disease after coming in direct contact with a surface that had been contaminated with the virus. However, they can be easily inactivated through the use of detergents and / or disinfectants.

Influenza A Symptoms

The presence of this medical disorder is known to trigger a couple of common manifestations, symptoms and / or signs that enable the physician (health care provider) establish a proper diagnosis of the condition. A set of detailed descriptions on hospitalized patients were transformed in a clinical spectrum for this medical condition. The virus that causes Influenza A has a longer incubation period than other known types of flu that affect humans. Although the average incubation period is between 2 and 5 days, there were some cases in which the patient developed the first (early) symptoms 17 days after the exposure to the virus.

The initial symptoms of this medical condition (Influenza A) include high fever (most patients complained of a temperature higher than 38 degrees Celsius), lower respiratory tract signs and / or clinical manifestations, a flu-like illness, and so on. Upper respiratory tract symptoms are not that common. Other severe, but common symptoms that appear in the case of Influenza A include vomiting and / or nausea, watery diarrhea, pain that is located in the abdomen, pleuritic pain, no bleeds, bleeding from the gums, and so on. Some patients also present radiographic abnormalities. However, pleural effusions are quite uncommon. Some physicians consider this medical condition as a primary viral pneumonia. In time (in a couple of days), the disease progresses to respiratory failure (a lethal condition). This is not a complete list of all the potential symptoms, signs and manifestations that are due to the presence of this medical condition (this type of flu). There may be other symptoms (that are not so common for Influenza A) that we have not mentioned in this guide book.

Influenza A Treatment

This medical condition is considered to be very severe. For this reason, a proper therapeutic approach is vital for all patients who are suffering from this medical illness (Influenza A). Without the proper medical care, the mortality for this type of medical disorder is very high. All patients who are diagnosed with this type of Influenza need to be hospitalized at once. Almost all of them require ventilatory support within two days after the hospitalization. Some of them experienced multi-organ failure and also severe hypotension. The empirical therapy option for such cases is the intake of antibiotics (especially broad spectrum antibiotics). A patient who is suffering from this medical condition (Influenza A) might also be prescribed treatment trials with other medical products such as corticosteroids, antiviral agents, and so on. However, the effects of such therapies has not been assessed in detail. Similar interventions are practically useless in the late stages of this medical condition, as they do not decrease the average mortality among sufferers. The intake of such drugs tends to mimic an improvement of the patient’s clinical condition in its early initiation. In some cases, a therapy with such medicines is useless even if the drugs were administered even from the early stages of this disorder.
All hospitalized patients who are suffering from Influenza A ought to be immediately isolated; however, they should be kept under close monitoring by authorized health care providers. All patients who have been diagnosed with this medical condition should be administered at once a neuraminidase inhibitor. Although the proper dosage of this medicine for this purpose has not been clearly established, even a minimal dose presents a certain improvement.

Early therapy is bound to provide the greatest beneficial effects, even if the use of a treatment trial is reasonable when the physicians agree that there is a possibility of ongoing replication of the virus. Some placebo clinical studies have been performed in order to determine the effectiveness of the oral form of Oseltamivir and of the inhaled form of Zanamivir, in doubled doses than the ones that were originally approved. Unfortunately, the study has shown that such a therapy does not provide any further benefits.  The use of corticosteroids is frequent among patients with Influenza A. However, the effects of a therapy with this class of medicines remains uncertain. Unfortunately, no vaccine against this type of Influenza is available on the market. The best way to prevent developing this medical condition remains trying to avoid any potential infected surfaces, humans, animals, and so on. For further information regarding the most effective therapy options against this disorder, we recommend you to seek professional medical help.