Investigating Influenza and Bird Flu

by Kelly, Evelyn B.; Wilson, Claire

• ISBN13: 9780766033412
• ISBN10: 0766033414
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-09-01
• Publisher: Enslow Pub Inc

Summary

You may have heard about influenza or strains of it like "bird flu" or "swine flu" in the news. But what exactly is influenza, and how do people get it? How can you tell if you have the flu or a cold? This book explains everything you need to know about the flu-including its history, treatments, and outlook For The future. A very current book about the latest pandemic threats and what scientists are doing to keep us safe.

Author Biography

Evelyn B. Kelly, PhD, is an educator with more than 37 years of experience at the high school and college levels. She has written widely on health, medical, and educational topics and contributed to six encyclopedias. Claire Wilson is an editor and writer with more than 20 years of experience in educational publishing. She is the senior content editor of the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Table of Contents

What Is Influenza?	p. 7
Introduction	p. 9
Straight Talk About Influenza	p. 10
What Is Influenza?	p. 14
What Are the Symptoms of the Flu?	p. 15
How Is Influenza Spread?	p. 17
Who Is Most Susceptible?	p. 19
What Are the Types of Influenza?	p. 21
Avian Influenza: An Overview	p. 23
Where Does It Occur?	p. 23
How Does Avian Influenza Spread?	p. 24
Who Is Most Susceptible?	p. 24
How Can It Be Treated?	p. 26
The History of Influenza	p. 29
Hippocrates and Influenza	p. 30
Early Historic Pandemics	p. 31
Pandemics From 1700 to 1900	p. 33
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic	p. 33
Search for a Cause	p. 38
Pandemics, 1950 to the Present	p. 41
The Swine Flu Disaster	p. 42
History of Avian Flu	p. 43
Avian Flu in the Media	p. 46
The Science of influenza	p. 48
What Is a Virus?	p. 49
How Viruses Work	p. 51
How Influenza Viruses Work	p. 53
How Do Viruses Evolve?	p. 54
Influenza and the Human Body	p. 57
How Does Influenza Outsmart the Immune System?	p. 61
Preventing Influenza	p. 65
Vaccinations for Prevention	p. 67
How Are Influenza Vaccines Produced?	p. 68
Who Should Get a Flu Shot?	p. 71
Can Someone Who Is Vaccinated Still Get Influenza?	p. 74
Vaccines and Avian Flu	p. 75
Vaccinating Birds?	p. 75
Preventing Influenza	p. 77
Diagnosis and Treatment of Influenza	p. 85
Treating Influenza	p. 87
Flu Look-Alikes	p. 91
Antiviral Drugs	p. 96
Alternative, or Complementary, Treatments	p. 100
Outlook for the Future	p. 101
Working Toward Prevention	p. 103
New Vaccines and Faster Production	p. 106
The FDA Approval Process	p. 109
Sequencing the Influenza Genome	p. 111
Bird Flu Vaccine	p. 114
New Understanding of the Immune System	p. 115
Public Health Issues	p. 117
Prescription for Survival	p. 120
New Threats	p. 121
Living With Influenza	p. 123
An Individual Living With the Flu	p. 123
A Family Living With the Flu	p. 126
A Community Living With the Flu	p. 129
A New Threat: Influenza-Induced Staph Infection	p. 131
A World Living With the Flu	p. 133
Global Prevention Efforts	p. 136
Living With Bird Flu	p. 137
Backyard Bird Feeding	p. 139
The Plain Facts of Living With Influenza	p. 140
Influenza Timeline	p. 142
Chapter Notes	p. 145
Glossary	p. 152
For More Information	p. 155
Further Reading	p. 155
Internet Addresses	p. 155
Organizations	p. 156
Index	p. 157
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