This leaflet provides information on influenza including what the symptoms of the virus are, what to do if you get it and what you can do to help stop it spreading.
What is Influenza?
Influenza (also known as flu) is a respiratory illness which is caused by the influenza virus. For most people influenza is just a nasty experience, but for some it can lead to illnesses that are more serious such as bronchitis (an infection of the main airways of the lungs) and pneumonia (inflammation of the tissue in one or both of your lungs). These illnesses may require treatment in hospital and can be life threatening, especially in the elderly, asthmatics and those in poor health.
Most people confuse influenza with a heavy cold; however influenza is usually a more severe illness than the common cold.
What are the symptoms?
The most common symptoms of influenza are a quick onset of:
- Fever – a temperature of 37.8°C or above
- Shivering or chills
- Headache
- Aching muscles
- Dry cough
- Limb or joint pain
- Sore throat
The symptoms of a cold are different as they usually occur gradually and include a runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and throat irritation. A cold does not cause a fever or body aches.
What causes Influenza?
Influenza is caused by the influenza (flu) virus. There are two main types that cause infection: Influenza A and Influenza B. Influenza A is usually a more severe infection than Influenza B. Each year, one or two subtypes (strains) of Influenza A may be in circulation and one type of Influenza B. Influenza C is an uncommon type that infrequently causes infection.
How does Influenza spread?
The influenza virus is highly contagious and is easily passed from person-to-person when an infected person coughs or sneezes, releasing infected droplets into the air. These droplets then land on surfaces and can be picked up by others who touch them. These can then in turn be spread to other surfaces.
The virus can enter the body when someone touches the surface and then puts their hands/fingers near their mouth, nose or eyes. The droplets can also be breathed in from the air.
It can live on a hard surface e.g. a door handle for up to 24 hours and a soft surface e.g. cushion for around 2 hours.
When is Influenza most common?
Influenza occurs most often in the winter months and usually peaks between December and March. However, the timing of influenza can sometimes be unpredictable; it can occur in spring and summer as it did in 2009. Illnesses similar to influenza in the summer months are usually due to other viruses.
What is a Flu epidemic?
A flu epidemic is where the occurrence of influenza in a community or region is much higher than what would normally be expected.
Who is most at risk of catching Influenza?
Anyone can catch influenza. The young have a greater risk of being infected because they have not developed immunity to the virus. More recently the circulating strains of flu virus have tended to cause infection in young adults and pregnant women, so depending on the strain circulating, other groups of people may be more at risk.
During a pandemic, influenza can cause serious illness in young health individuals. Influenza is most likely to cause severe infection in those who are in the ‘at risk’ group. You are in the ‘at risk’ group if you:
- Are aged 65 or over
- Are diabetic
- Are immune-suppressed
- Are pregnant
- Do not have a spleen
- Have chronic heart, renal (kidney), liver or neurological problems
- Have a chronic respiratory (lung) disease, including asthma
- Have children under 5 years old
Your GP will advise you if you are in the ‘at risk’ group.
How is Influenza diagnosed?
Usually a doctor will diagnose a case of the flu based on typical symptoms of fever, chills, headache, cough and body aches.
What is the treatment for Influenza?
It is best to treat the infection at home until you are well enough to return to normal activities. If you have a chronic or long standing illness or your symptoms become severe or last more than one week, please seek advice from your GP.
The treatment for influenza involves:
- Rest
- Drinking plenty of fluids
- Taking painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen
Make sure you read the manufacturers leaflet that comes with any medicines and do not exceed the recommended dose.
Are there any alternative treatments?
In severe cases of influenza, or in those who are at increased risk of complications of flu, antivirals may be used to reduce the duration of symptoms with the aim of reducing the duration of being severely unwell. However they have to be used in conjunction with other treatments and are not recommended for otherwise healthy adults with flu.
There is risk with antivirals that the virus can change and become resistant to the drug, so it will not effectively treat the virus. This is most likely to occur in people who are treated for a long time with the drug but whose immune system has not been able to clear the virus from the body.
How long will I be infectious for?
You will have been infected with the virus for two to three days before symptoms first appear. Adults are usually considered infectious one day before symptoms appear and for three to five days afterwards. This period is longer in children or adults that are immuno-compromised.
How can the spread of Influenza be prevented?
Vaccination against influenza is the best way of protecting yourself from the virus. Keep away from crowded places to reduce the risk of become infected and spreading it to others. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, dispose of the tissue in a bin and wash your hands.
Cleaning can destroy the virus easily. If a person has had flu, their room should be cleaned with normal household products. Pay particular attention to hard surfaces and allow the cleaning product plenty of time to work.
Bed linen should also be washed and windows left open for a while.
Hand hygiene
The role of hand hygiene can help us prevent the spread of infection.
How to wash your hands effectively with soap and water:
- Wet hands thoroughly before applying soap.
- Vigorously rub all surfaces of both hands with soap lather.
- Pay special attention to the finger tips, thumbs and between fingers (these areas are frequently missed when washing hands).
- Rinse off all the soap under running water and dry hands thoroughly.
- Always cover cuts with waterproof plasters.
- When you can, apply hand cream as this helps to prevent dryness and chapping.
Where can I get more information?
If you would like further information please speak to a member of your care staff, who may also contact the Infection Prevention and Control Team for you.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) website is another source of information:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-healthsecurity-agency
Infection Prevention and Control contact details
You can contact the team Monday – Friday between 9am – 5pm on the following numbers:
Bedford
01234 795848
Luton
01582 497321