Influenza illness

Question 1

what are the kinds of flu you can get?

Answer 1

classic flu - influenza A and B

flu like illnesses

Haemophilus influenzae

Question 2

what Influenza virus causes less severe disease?

Answer 2

B virus - tends to cause smaller outbreaks

Question 3

for which groups is influenza B just as severe as A

Answer 3

in children

Question 4

what are the viruses causes flu-like illnesses?

Answer 4

parainfluenza viruses and many others

these occur outside of major epidemics

Question 5

what is haemophilus influenzae?

Answer 5

bacterium and it is not a primary cause of flu, may be a secondary invader

Question 6

how is it transmitted?

Answer 6

by droplet, or through direct contact with respiratory secretions of someone with the infection

Question 7

Infection control precautions also include aerosol protection for aerosol generating procedures only

what are some examples

Answer 7

Intubation, extubation and related procedures, for example manual ventilation and open suctioning.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Bronchoscopy.

Surgery and post mortem procedures in which high-speed devices are used.

Dental procedures.

Non Invasive Ventilation (NIV) e.g. Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure Ventilation (BiPAP) and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Ventilation (CPAP).

High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation (HFOV).

Induction of sputum.

Question 8

what are the symptoms?

Answer 8

fever

malaise

myalgia

headache

cough

interferon causes systemic symptoms - the virus is restricted to respiratory epithelium

Question 9

what are the features of the cough?

Answer 9

initially dry and painful, it later becomes productive and painless

Question 10

what are the features of the fever?

Answer 10

high, abrupt onset

Question 11

what investigations should be done?

Answer 11

detection of virus

antibody detection

Question 12

how is the virus detected?

Answer 12

PCR
nasopharyngeal swabs in virus transport medium
throat swabs in virus transport medium
other respiratory samples

other labs may use immunofluorescence, antigen detection (near patient), virus culture

Question 13

what is needed for antibody detections?

Answer 13

may need paired acute and convalescent bloods

often retrospective

Question 14

how is flu treated?

Answer 14

symptomatic : bed rest, fluids, paracetamol

Antivirals
oseltamivir
zanamivir

Prophylaxis
the drugs are sometimes used in prophylaxis

Question 15

what are the complications of flu?

Answer 15

primary influenza pneumonia

secondary influenzal pneumonia

ottitis media

bronchitis

implications during pregnancy

non respiratory causes of death like - MI

Question 16

what are the complications of parainfluenza?

Answer 16

can cause acute laryngotracheobronchitis

Question 17

how does primary influenzal pneumonia arise?

Answer 17

this happens when the flu virus enters the lungs and goes into the bronchioles and then you have life-threatening pneumonia

Question 18

when is primary influenzal bacteria seen?

Answer 18

most during pandemic years?

Question 19

who is affected by primary influenzal pneumonia ?

Answer 19

can be a disease of young adults and it has a high mortality

Question 20

which organisms cause secondary influenzal pneumonia ?

Answer 20

most commonly strep pneumonia ad haemophilus influenzae

Question 21

who gets secondary influenzal pneumonia?

Answer 21

more common in infants, elderly and debilitated, pre-existing disease and pregnant women

cause of mortality in all influenza epidemics
most common cause of death in fatal influenza, even in the pandemic years

Question 22

what is influenza during pregnancy associated with?

Answer 22

perinatal mortality, prematurity, smaller neonatal size and lower birth weight