The Epidemiology of Influenza
The impact of influenza on the global population is enormous. This applies to both individual well-being and the cost of economic opportunity. This is not even taking into account the lost man-hours of economic production. This is what drives the public’s desire for a universal influenza vaccination, particularly in light of the threat of a global pandemic (Jang & Seong, 2019; Phillipson et al., 2019; Paules & Fauci, 2018). Several investigations on the possibility and feasibility of developing a universal influenza vaccination have been conducted. However, this still remains to be a dream for epidemiologists as influenza is still an endemic viral infection that is yet to be mastered and fully controlled by a single vaccine. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the epidemiology of influenza as well as the global outlook of the viral infection.
Causes
Influenza or flu as it is commonly referred to is a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract that is caused by the Hemophilus influenzae virus. Particularly, the types of influenza viruses that cause flu are the ones designated as types A, B, and C. It is usually a seasonal infection that is more prevalent during the cold season but can affect anyone at any time too. According to epidemiologists, rampant seasonal outbreaks are mostly caused by the H. influenzae types A and B. The type known as type C is known to only cause mild outbreaks here and there and so it is not as virulent as the other two subtypes. Influenza is endemic in the general population and exists also on surfaces that can be touched and the virus transferred to the respiratory system (CDC, 2022b; Hammer & McPhee, 2018). Influenza is a very contagious infection and easily moves from one person to another through aerosols or respiratory droplets.
There are vaccines against the influenza viruses. However, it is significant to note that the vaccines only protect against the more virulent types A and B. They do not protect against the subtype C which has no vaccine so far. The subtype A is known by epidemiologists to also occur in different animals as a zoonotic infection. This means that zoonotic transmission to humans is also possible with the influenza subtype A. However, the influenza virus subtype B is known to only occur in humans (Hammer & McPhee, 2018). As stated above, both subtypes A and B infect humans and cause serious disease.
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