The Staggering Success of Vaccines
the transmission of epidemic influenza :: Article Creator Deadly Diseases In the world of human afflictions, the general public often overlooks influenza, considering it an unwanted guest that must be endured during the winter months. But few diseases match the year-in, year-out power of this deadly viral infection. Each year it takes the lives of about 37,000 people in the United States and between 250,000 and 500,000 worldwide. While that toll is significant enough, influenza always has the potential to turn far more lethal, because the viruses can mutate rapidly into new strains. To public health officials, flu tops the list of diseases that could cause a pandemic — a global epidemic. Influenza got its name in the 1700s from an Italian folk word that attributed colds, cough, and fever to the influence of the stars. Highly contagious, the flu virus passes through the air via water droplets from coughing and sneezing. The organism can survive for ho...
