Influenza

Question 1

what is the main contraindication to the influenza vaccine?

Answer 1

egg allergy

Question 2

what strains of influenza are in the vaccine?

Answer 2

trivalent vaccine
x2 type A
x1 type B

Question 3

what is antigenic drift and antigenic shift?

Answer 3

drift is genetic variation in the virus resulting in the host immune system not being able to combat it so well
shift is a major change resulting in new H/N combinations

Question 4

what is meant by the H/N combinations?

Answer 4

surface proteins - haemagglutin and neuramidase

allow the virus to attach and enter the host cell (H) and exit the host cell (N)

Question 5

what is the tretament for complicated influenza?

Answer 5

oseltamivir

Question 6

who are at risk of complicated influenza?

Answer 6

age > 65
age < 3 months 
pregnancy 
diabetes mellitus 
immunocompromised 
obesity BMI > 40
hepatic, pulmonary, renal, neurologic, cardiac disease

Question 7

what are the features of a pandemic infection?

Answer 7

affects 25% of the population
new virus with genetic shift
efficient transmission
human pathogenicity

Question 8

when is someone not infectious with influenza?

Answer 8

symptoms free for 24 hours
or
completed course of anti-virals

Question 9

what are the complications that can arise from influenza?

Answer 9

acute bronchitis

secondary bacterial pneumonia (strep. pneumonia, e.coli, h. influenzae)

Question 10

to confirm influenza, what investigations could you carry out?

Answer 10

viral nose and throat swab
blood culture
CXR
pulse oximetry, resp rate, FBC, U&E, CRP