Flu 2013

The season of flu is still in motion in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in the United States. Here’s the latest report, along with few tips to keep you from this wintertime sickness:

The latest update shows another big leap in the number of reported cases as of the second week of December this year. Presently, there are already 29 states reporting a widespread activity of the virus throughout its population, which includes Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. This is 11 more states than last week, and more than half of the country being widely affected.

12 more states, including the states of Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Washington, are reporting some regional activities of the virus.

Local flu activity also includes Columbia District and 5 more states, namely Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, and Oregon.

Meanwhile, California, Hawaii and Vermont are reporting sporadic influenza activities, while Delaware, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands didn’t report any cases this week.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) still emphasize the importance of the flu vaccine, and that the flu shot is still out best defense to keep the deadly virus at bay. The CDC recommends everyone, over 6 months of age, to get the shot and be immunized. The flu shot in circulation today was derived from three strains of flu virus, one strain is new for this season’s vaccine.

Despite CDC’s constant reminder, many people are still hesitant to take the flu shot, thinking that it can, cause them to sickness. It’s important to note that, though the vaccine may cause some flu-like side effects to particular sets of people, such as mild fever, muscle aches, sore throat, and runny nose, it does not give the body the flu. Rather, it teaches the body to fight and beat the flu virus should the real one comes a close.

Flu shots however, aren’t for everyone, such as patients below 6 months of age and pregnant women. Those who can’t take the vaccine are advised to take extra measures in taking care of their health and minimize the risk for contracting the virus of lessen its symptoms, such as avoiding close contact to sick or flu-affected individuals, avoiding other people when sick, staying at home from school or work when experiencing flu or flu-like symptoms, washing hands frequently, covering mouth and nose when coughing and/or sneezing, and avoid touching noise or mouth and the eyes.

Government health agencies in the US are recommending flu vaccinations before peak flu season. But medical experts are singing a different tune. There is now a demand from experts demanding the government’s policy on flu shots. Government employees are mandated to take the vaccine or face possible termination. This mandate came months after several health issues reported on the dangerous side effects of the flu vaccine.

The main medical issue found against the flu shot is the scientific confirmation that it can increase the chances of miscarriage. The study was published online by the Journal of Human and Experimental Toxicology last September 2012 showing a huge spike in miscarriages after the administering the flu vaccine.

But despite this study, government health agencies like the CDC are encouraging people, even pregnant women, to take the flu vaccine in preparation for the coming flu season. This creates a huge question mark regarding the opposing message coming from the medical experts and the government.

This is not the only dangers coming from the flu vaccine. Back in 2010, the same government health agencies confirmed that the vaccine can cause the dreaded Guillain-Barre syndrome. It is a nerve disease that causes paralysis. However, this did not stop them from recommending the vaccine. Experts are now wondering why the government is going on a different direction after
having such information.

That is not all. There were cases that link the flu vaccine to the number of convulsion among vaccinated toddlers. This happened in Australia and the Australian government banned all flu shots after a number of children were hospitalized due to convulsions triggered by the flu vaccine.

The Center for Disease Control is also contributing to the problem. The agency is currently informing the public about flu vaccine hoaxes. And included in its list are the scientifically proven dangers of the vaccine. This created a conflict of information from medical experts and government health officials.

The good news is that such information is available online and we at flu2013.com are making sure that you and everyone else are informed. This will give you a better understanding of the situation and be able to create informed decisions when it comes to flu and the flu vaccine.

We believe that information about the flu shot should be readily available and that the government should be transparent about the health issues surrounding it. Even the vaccine advocates should concede after several cases of adverse effects caused by the flu vaccine. They should work hand-in-hand with the medical experts to formulate a safer alternative to deal with the dreaded flu season.

It would be best to focus on the treatment methods that are proven safe rather than gamble on the vaccine. Another great idea
is to inform people on the common symptoms of flu such as types of cough that are caused by the flu virus. These are much better information and should be distributed by the CDC and other government health agencies than encouraging people to take into their bodies a potentially dangerous drug.

The flu and the common cold are the most talked about ailments every year. This is due to the fact they are very common and that they can really slow you down and even get you hospitalized. And as recent events have revealed to us, the flu is now a health concern due to the fatalities it caused. And the common cold, which is one of the main symptoms of flu, also became an area of concern.

Today there is a lot of interest on these 2 common ailments. People are now looking for information about the flu and common cold. And they do this online thanks to the World Wide Web. To help you narrow down your search on the most trusted websites about the flu and common cold here is a list of websites that give the most comprehensive information about these common ailments.

EverydayHealth.com

The website everydayhealth.com is a place where you can learn about common ailments and diseases that you will experience in our lifetime and the treatments that we can avail to make you healthy once again. You can search the website for information about flu and common cold. You can also learn about remedies found in your own home to deal with these ailments.

Lung.org

Lung.org is the website of the American Lung Association, an organization that promotes lung health. And their website contains detailed information about the common ailments that affect the respiratory system. You can check the site’s resources under influenza page and it will tell you all about the common cold. In the influenza (flu’s complete medical name) page you can read how to prevent flu and how to spot it from the symptoms.

KidsHealth.org

Flu and cold can lead to serious complications when the afflicted person is a child. And kidshealth.org offers great information on flu and cold that afflict the kids and what parents can do to safely treat these 2 common ailments.

CDC.gov

The Center for Disease Control is the government agency that seeks to prevent diseases and other health concerns to spread to the public and to provide measures in case of an epidemic. To help in this endeavor, the cdc.gov was created to provide information to the public for diseases such as influenza (flu) and cold. You can find tried and proven methods on dealing with flu and cold in cdc.gov but information is limited to actual remedies doctors provide.

Flu.gov

Flu.gov is a government sponsored website that focuses on providing relevant information about influenza. The site focuses on symptoms, treatments and the time of the year when flu is rampant (the seasonal flu). Like the CDC, flu.gov offers scientifically proven ways to deal with flu.

These are the websites we recommend that offer everything that you need to know about the flu and common cold.

The flu is a very interesting disease. It has been around for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands, and has infected humans throughout history. And even today, after years of technological and scientific advancement in medicine, there is still no clear cut method to defeat flu permanently. This is why there is a growing interest on this ailment from healthcare professionals, scientists and none medical proficient public.

How the flu virus invades the body

Most of us are now looking for information to protect themselves from the influenza virus, the microbe responsible for the flu. This is why there is a lot of search on how the flu virus invades the body. By knowing how the virus gets inside our body we can now develop an action to prevent this from happening.

The truth about the flu vaccine

I think by know most of us are familiar with the flu vaccine or the flu shot. But the misconceptions still linger. This is why there are a lot of information online telling us about the facts and the myths that surround the flu vaccine. And this is great news since not everyone must take the flu shot. Generally speaking, the flu vaccine is not capable of protecting you from all the different strands of the influenza virus.

Why you need the flu vaccine every year?

A lot of people think that you only need a flu shot once. But this is not true. You need the vaccine every year. This fact makes it virtually impossible to consider the flu shot as a true vaccine. But it cannot be helped as well. The influenza virus is a tricky one, changing itself year after year, a process that renders this year’s flu vaccine useless next year.

How flu spreads from one to the other?

The influenza virus has caused several epidemics in human history. And to understand why this is so is to know how flu spreads from one person to another. This is the reason why we are more aware about the importance of hygiene and cleanliness when it comes to preventing the spread of diseases. I think that there is no other century than the 21st century where people are now spending a lot of time cleaning their hands.

The Flu Pandemic of 1918

There is no other flu pandemic every recorded to be as severe as the Spanish Flu of 1918. It was a very unusually case since the influenza virus normally causes severe health problems to people who are unhealthy. But the 1918 flu pandemic affected perfectly healthy individuals and caused deaths of up to 50 million people.

It is true that there the flu had cost lives, even in this time and age. But let us also not forget about the fact that flu can be treated easily today. This means that there is no need to think that once we have the influenza virus we are now near death’s door. Still, prevention is always better than the cure.

Monroe County Health Department (December 4, 2012) – Health officials from the Rochester / Monroe County reported its first influenza casualty for 2012-13 flu season. Report says the patient was elderly. This announcement just came a day after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that we are experiencing the flu season earlier than usual for almost a decade.

Furthermore, the teleconference includes information that shows New York State as one of the only 4 states with extensive flu activities, the highest level of reported activities. Nationwide, the percentage of influenza-like illness outpatient visits has already reached its nationwide baseline of 2.2% earlier for the past 9 years.

Flu Alert for 2012-2013 Season

The latest report from New York outpatient ILI shows a rapid increase since mid-November this year. The Central New York region, which stretches from Watertown in the north up to Syracuse and down south to Binghamton, has the region’s highest ILI outpatient rate of only over 7%. All regions outside the city of New York have either reached or exceeded the 4% ILI rate. Monroe County reports about 5%.

New York’s latest report of ILI activity was in November 17, but it only recorded 1.7% visits. However, the city is doubling its digits for Respiratory Synctial Virus (RSV) cases than flu cases. This goes to show that not all respiratory illnesses at this time of the year are flu.

The date from New York and CDC differ in the mix of the prevailing influenza subtypes. Generally, it is the H3 subtypes that appear to be the most prevalent. The teleconference with the CDC suggests that, what we have now may be similar with what we had in 2003-04, and that H3 flu strain may be more severe than the ordinary H1 version. The H1 strain is yet to be detected in New York, even after testing 28 samples.

The flu shot in circulation for this season is expected to provide protection for this year’s flu season. The survey from the CDC shows that 36.5% of those who are eligible to get the vaccine have done so. Independent vaccine manufacturers have already distributed about 124.7 million shots out of the expected 135 million doses that will be produced.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, the United States is experiencing its earliest flu season for the first time in almost a decade. The last time flu season started so early was during the 2003-04 season.

Flu-like cases have increased dramatically in 5 states in southern US, and an infectious train of H3N2 virus – one which makes people sicker – shows to be the dominating strain this season, officials say. Older adults are more at risk of severe symptoms and complications of this virus.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of CDC, says, “It looks like it’s shaping up to be a bad flu season, but only time will tell.”

The US however, appears to be well prepared for this year’s flu season, Dr. Frieden added. Almost a third of US citizens has already received their annual flu shot, and authorities say that it provides protection for the dominant strain that’s currently infection people today.

Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas, are reporting particularly higher rate of influenza virus, and 48 states, including Puerto Rico, have confirmed reported cases of influenza. There’s also been a rapid growth of reported cases from the number of samples that are coming back that shows positive results, the CDC announced early this week today.

The CDC wrote: “Influenza-like-illness (ILI) activity levels in parts of the country are already higher than all of last season.”

Health experts can’t pinpoint the reason why flu season appeared so early this year. However, reported cases and the number of hospitalization of patients are rising than they used to do; 2 children have already died from flu-related illness.

The flu strain than is circulating now is the same with the one in 2003-04 season. Also, in that year, there was significantly high number of reported flu cases, hospitalizations and deaths among children and seniors.

The good news is health authorities are getting better in predicting the upcoming flu strains for each season.

The CDC informed that the vaccines that were used in 2003-04 season didn’t match to the circulating strain in that season, as well as those that are administered this year. With the new developments in medical technology, health authorities from all over the world are starting to get better in predicting the dominant strain for the upcoming flu season.

Another good news is that, there are more vaccines available this season that there were a decade ago.

There’s been a significant increase in the percentage of people who receive the annual flu shot, including pregnant women and health care workers as compared to 2003-04 season. The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published an article which says that, all health-care workers should take their annual flu shot to protect their patients better.

The CDC reports about 112 million Americans received the vaccine so far for this year.

Dr. Melinda Wharton from the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said, “Increasing flu activity should be a wake-up call. For anyone who has put off vaccination: It’s time to get your flu vaccine now.”

FluView reports that, influenza activities are found to be very active along the south-central and southeast of the country. The bad news is, all signs are geared to the idea that the rest of the country will soon follow, making flu a serious health issue for the public.

The disease cause about 200,000 hospitalizations year after year, and may be the case of death for up to 49,000 individuals, says CDC.

CDC emphasizes that vaccination is still the best way to protect individuals from influenza. The efficacy of the shot depends on how the virus strain in circulation closely matches with it and the patient’s age.

Comprehensive and reliable information

This website is dedicated to help you in preparing for the seasonal flu this coming 2013 and for any possible flu pandemic heading our way. So in flu2013.com expect to learn more about influenza, the common ailment popularly referred to as the flu.

We seek to provide you the information that you will need to help you fight against one of the world’s most common and potentially fatal disease. And we believe this can be achieved by posting articles that provides information on the main cause of flu, the common symptoms to help you detect flu in its early stage and the remedies that are both natural and medically proven to work against it. We believe in options, whether it comes from traditional modern medical remedies to alternative medicines that do not require drugs.

And we at flu2013.com also know about the importance of knowing everything there is to know about the flu and the virus that causes it. This will give you a much more comprehensive understanding on how you can prevent the flu virus from reaching you and how to make your body healthy enough to keep the disease at bay. We believe that prevention is always better than the cure.

Vaccines

We also understand the importance of reliable information. That is why we also provide unbiased articles about flu vaccines. This will allow you, our readers, to fully evaluate the significance of the flu shot and not just blindly follow one-sided vaccine propaganda meant to ensure the profit of pharmaceutical companies.

Children and flu

We also expect the parents to be in search of information about flu and children. And this is to be expected after the alarming number of children who died during the Swine Flu pandemic of 2009. So we are also providing helpful articles on how kids can be protected from the flu virus when they still do not have an immune system as capable as that of adults.

Up to date

We at flu2013.com will also continue to update and improve the flu information that we are posting to make them relevant as time passes. We know that there is an ongoing medical science endeavor to create a much more powerful flu vaccine to prevent deadly pandemics such as the Spanish Flu and the Swine Flu. Hopefully, once this weapon against the flu is realized we would be able to share such great news to you.

I hope you do find all the things that you need to know about the flu upon your visit here in flu2013.com. As the websites name implies, we are getting people prepared to the coming flu season in 2013. And with you we hope that it will not be the year for another flu pandemic that could cost millions of lives.

Once again, welcome to flu2013.com. Feel free to read all our articles about flu and get all the information you need to understand and effectively combat this common and dreaded disease. If you happen to be looking for information on cough and cough medicine, please feel free to visit our best cough medicine site.