Influenza (Flu)

Influenza, also known as the flu, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by viruses. There are several varieties of flu. Currently, North Carolina has both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu cases.

Flu attacks a person’s nose, throat, and lungs. Influenza usually comes on suddenly and may include fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, and/or body aches. Most people who get flu recover in a week or two, but some people develop life-threatening complications (such as pneumonia) as a result of flu. Every year, between 1,000 and 2,000 people die of seasonal influenza and pneumonia in North Carolina. It is still early in the 2009 H1N1 outbreak; most people who have been ill have recovered or are recovering. Although H1N1 so far has been compared to regular seasonal flu, some people have become severely ill and there have been some deaths.

Usually spread when infected people cough or sneeze, either type of flu can spread rapidly in a community unless people take precautions. Flu vaccines will help protect people from seasonal flu and the 2009 H1N1 flu, and simple precautions, like frequent hand washing and covering one’s mouth and nose when one coughs or sneezes, can help prevent the spread of all types of flu.

Now that the traditional flu season has begun, both H1N1 and seasonal flu strains are circulating in North Carolina. Either H1N1 or seasonal flu can be dangerous for a person with an underlying medical condition—such as asthma or diabetes—or if you’re pregnant. So far, H1N1 has been most contagious among children and young adults age six months to 24 years old.

Everyone can take some very basic actions to help stop the spread of flu. Wash your hands with soap and water. Cough into your elbow or sleeve or into a tissue, not your hands. Stay home if you are sick. Get a seasonal flu shot now, and get vaccinated against H1N1 when the vaccine becomes available. Everyone has a role in preventing the spread of flu.

Learn how to prevent the flu and what to do if you become ill.
For quick information, go to North Carolina’s flu web site at www.flu.nc.gov and see www.flu.gov. More detailed information is below and on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, www.cdc.gov.

Flu Surveillance in N.C.: The numbers

• H1N1 Flu: General Information (CDC)
• 2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Q&A (CDC)
• Q&A about diagnostic tests for flu (CDC)
• H1N1 Flu: What do I need to know and do?
• Q&A about H1N1 novel flu ("swine flu")
• Preguntas y respuestas sobre la nueva influenza H1N1 ("gripe porcina")
• Feeding Your Baby: What Parents Should Know - CDC
• H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and You (English) - CDC
• Influenza H1N1 (gripe porcina)  (español) - CDC
• Keep Illness From Spreading (infection control tips, poster, bookmark)
• Farms and H1N1 flu in North Carolina: Q&A, N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
• H1N1 Flu: Guidance for Professionals
• N.C. Flu Surveillance
• NC DHHS news releases
• Pandemic Flu and You
• U.S. Government Flu Site, Flu.gov

• Flu vaccinations - N.C. Immunization Program
• Why Flu Vaccination Matters (1 min. CDC video)
• Flu: questions and answers, and more - U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Q&A about diagnostic tests for flu (CDC)
• Información de la gripe(flu) en español
• Influenza Sentinel Surveillance Program
• Keep Illness From Spreading (infection control tips, poster, bookmark)
• U.S. Government Flu Site, Flu.gov