Treating It Right
Once the wind blows cold and the rainy season sets in, people coughing, sneezing, and missing days of school or work become a common occurrence. Limbs aching, noses clogging and chest hurting from too much coughing seem pretty normal for most-so normal, in fact, that many tend to innocently shrug off these symptoms. But what people often fail to realize is that flu kills.
From the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 that killed more than 20 million people to the 1957 Asian Flu pandemic that took a million lives to the 1968 Hong Kong Flu pandemic that claimed about 800,000 to the most recent "Bird Flu" of 1997 that infected 18 people and killed six, nothing about this disease is either common or innocent.
Dubbed the "smart virus" by the World Health Organization (WHO), influenza was considered the real Y2K bug with millions falling victim to it. At the onset of the year 2000, another lethal strain of the virus surfaced in Australia-Sydney H3N2-proving its dreadful and unpredictable nature once again. Flu swept all over Europe, the Middle East and the United States at the start of the decade, reminding us that the idea of a flu pandemic sweeping the world again is not at all far-fetched.
WHO recognized this very real threat, prompting the world body to come out with a Pandemic Preparedness Plan in 1999. The plan provides guidelines that the WHO and national authorities are to follow should an outbreak occur. It also stresses a strong recommendation for each country to have its own National Pandemic Planning Committee (NPPC), which will develop a strategic plan based on the WHO guidelines.
So as not to cause unnecessary anxiety, WHO set parameters to determine whether a pandemic really exists before making a declaration. The guidelines set three progressive (zero to three) preparedness levels. In keeping with WHO's aim to keep a watchful eye on this dreadful virus, surveillance is maintained in 110 national centers worldwide. It is in these centers that human and animal influenza viruses are isolated to identify emerging strains immediately.
Mitigation
Although WHO acknowledges that stopping a pandemic virus from spreading is virtually unattainable, mitigating the damage it can cause is the main goal. Continuous medical research provides us not just with symptomatic remedies but with antivirals that can actually alleviate the virus's effects and control its spread. Neuraminidase inhibitors work against both influenza A and B viruses. Available in either inhaled or oral formulation, neuraminidase inhibitors reduce symptom severity in 24 hours, duration of illness by 2.5 days, as well as risk of complications.
Dr. Imelda Mateo, training officer of the Amang Rodriguez Medical Center department of medicine explained: "Before, patients were confined to just symptomatic treatments because they had no choice. But now they can take an antiviral that shortens the duration [of the illness] and makes the effects less severe."
She adds: "Taking an oral antiviral within the first two days of the infection can certainly help the patient. Bed rest and increased fluid intake will also help."
The licensed antiviral agents in the US are amantadine, rimatandine, zanamivir, and oseltamivir. Flu treatment varies from patient to patient, based on severity, age, and the presence of complications, if any. The presence of other conditions (pregnancy, cardiovascular disease, etc.) must also be taken into consideration before giving any medication.
Complications
The more disturbing danger lies not in the infection alone but in the complications that may arise from it. Influenza infecting a healthy individual can be ugly. Suffering from cold, cough, headaches, fever, and even muscle and joint pains is bad enough, but if the infection reaches someone who is immunocompromised, it can certainly be fatal.
Those who are over 60 years, with diabetes, kidney problems, heart conditions, or respiratory illnesses are at high risk of developing virulent complications that could lead to mean death. Complications such as viral pneumonia and systemic viral infections can certainly put a patient's life in jeopardy.
The peril in flu lies not only in the damage it causes upon infection and the harm its complications may bring, but more so in the fact that the viral strain that causes it mutates at a dangerous pace, leaving man perpetually at risk.
Annual immunization against influenza is advised for everyone, especially those in the high-risk group such as health workers and those who are immunocompromised. Although the vaccine does not guarantee 100-percent protection, it can ensure a controlled and assuaged manifestation of the symptoms.
Not everyone can instantly be immunized though-those who have anaphylactic sensitivity to eggs, for example, should not avail themselves of the vaccine without being desensitized first.
"Immunization, proper diet, exercise, nicotine-free lifestyle-all contribute to proper pulmonary care [and] can shield you from suffering from debilitating complications that may arise from getting infected with flu," explained Dr. Ma. Consuelo Mison-Obillo, president of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians.
Of course, like in all diseases, prevention is better than cure. But if one is unlucky enough to contract the infection, consulting a physician is definitely the best way to go. Catching the infection early on can save your life.
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