Flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by a virus which creates symptoms such as a high temperature, headache, and feeling exhausted.
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Influenza (flu) is an infection caused by influenza viruses. It affects your upper respiratory tract (your nose, throat and mouth) and can range from mild to severe.
It can cause a range of symptoms, and usually lasts from a few days to a couple of weeks. Influenza can be very mild or considerably more serious, and often comes on very suddenly and without warning.
Most people who get flu will be fine within a few days to two weeks, but some people, particularly those classed as vulnerable such as the elderly, can get complications which can lead to conditions such as pneumonia. This may be life-threatening.
Anyone can get the flu, but some groups are more vulnerable to it. This includes babies, pregnant women, people over the age of 65 and the elderly, and people with certain health conditions that limit their immune systems, such as diabetes and heart disease. Asthma sufferers are more prone to it too.
The flu is highly contagious, and spreads when you come into contact with another person who has it, or if you come into contact with the things that somebody coughs or sneezes on. It’s very easy to catch it as you go about your day-to-day life, so it’s important to take preventative measures to limit your chances of catching flu. These measures include washing your hands when you go to the toilet and sanitising your hands when you eat.
The flu is very common. About 9% of the world population gets the flu each year. Up to one billion are infected, and there are approximately three to five million cases which are severe. Between three and five hundred thousand cases result in death .
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Does oseltamivir shorten flu symptom duration?. The Journal of family practice, 65(8), 564.
Influenza update: a review of currently available vaccines. P & T : a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management, 36(10), 659–684.
Vaccine Effectiveness: How Well Do the Flu Vaccines Work? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Effect of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) for the Prevention and Treatment of Influenza During an Influenza Pandemic. PubMed. Oslo, Norway: Knowledge Centre for the Health Services at The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).
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