Pandemic influenza: clinical issues
- 20 November 2006
- journal article
- review article
- Published by AMPCo in The Medical Journal of Australia
- Vol. 185 (S10), S44-S47
- https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00706.x
Abstract
Influenza is an acute febrile illness caused by influenza A or B viruses. It occurs mainly in winter in temperate climates, and throughout the year in tropical Australia. It is highly contagious and of considerable public health concern because of the rapidity with which epidemics evolve and the associated morbidity and mortality. Most influenza illnesses resolve over about 1 week without specific medical intervention. People at particular risk for complicated infection are those > 65 or < 5 years old, those with chronic medical comorbidities, residents of chronic care facilities (including nursing homes), and women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Complicated influenza infection most commonly manifests as primary viral pneumonia, combined viral and bacterial pneumonia, and secondary bacterial pneumonia. Rare but serious complications of influenza include central nervous system involvement (eg, encephalitis, transverse myelitis, aseptic meningitis, and Guillain–Barré syndrome). The recent emergence of avian influenza A/H5N1 and confirmation of sporadic cases of human H5N1 infection have heightened concern about an impending human influenza pandemic, either from a human form of H5N1 or a primary new human influenza strain. H5N1 infection in humans has been associated with severe illness and a > 50% mortality rate, with high mortality in people aged 10–39 years.Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Is Influenza an Influenza-Like Illness? Clinical Presentation of Influenza in Hospitalized PatientsInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2006
- Influenza A and B Virus Infections in ChildrenClinical Infectious Diseases, 2003
- The impact of influenza in childrenSeminars in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 2002
- Prolonged Excretion of Amantadine-Resistant Influenza A Virus Quasi Species after Cessation of Antiviral Therapy in an Immunocompromised PatientClinical Infectious Diseases, 2002
- Clinical Signs and Symptoms Predicting Influenza InfectionArchives of Internal Medicine, 2000
- InfluenzaThe Lancet, 1999
- Common Emergence of Amantadine‐ and Rimantadine‐Resistant Influenza A Viruses in Symptomatic Immunocompromised AdultsClinical Infectious Diseases, 1998
- Influenza surveillance in community-dwelling elderly compared with childrenArchives of Family Medicine, 1997
- Prolonged Shedding of Amantadine-Resistant Influenza A Viruses by Immunodeficient Patients: Detection by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction AnalysisThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1995
- Patterns of Shedding of Myxoviruses and Paramyxoviruses in ChildrenThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1981