We live for generations relying more on treatment versus prevention (secondary versus primary care). Yes we have drastically improved in the health care system leaning more to primary through further research and technology. Also, we have advanced in practicing prevention to some degree; that would be regarding certain illnesses/disease but the society in our nation is still too high on being the ones relying on treatment rather than prevention. Adults alone are 65% obese which is a main cause for certain diseases remaining on the rise in this country. These diseases are still on the rise due to some of our cultural eating habits in our homes. For American culture that includes the restaurant industry and social acceptance of the do’s and don’ts in our communities. Out of homes in America we are exposed to fast foods, lack of allowing kids to play in a baseball fields with safe/ responsible adults because they don’t have a permit, no desire to be active due to being in the computer too many hours or even watching TV instead of 30 to 60 minutes of exercise squeezed in our daily schedules somewhere. Due to this behavior we inflict on ourselves either increasing risks of or the cause of or worsening of diseases or illnesses in American citizens or any citizen in some country who lives the same life style; ending line its due to the diet or the poor health habits practiced in the individual’s life. If you and others knew in our country the baby steps in becoming healthier NOW not tomorrow it would benefit your health and your life line extending it dramatically, especially if you start in your younger years with no illness/disease or very little. You’ve heard the line I’ll start next month with next month never happening or this will be my New Year’s resolution on Christmas and it’s already forgotten on Jan. 1st. Unfortunately a lot end up with the poor health due to their sedentary life style being their diet and poor healthy habits. Don’t put it off anymore, take the first step, and increase the changes you need to a better mind and body.
Prevent the following diseases that obesity alone can cause, which are:
1. High Blood Pressure -High blood pressure is the primary cause of death among Americans older than 25. About 75 million people suffer from high blood pressure or hypertension, which is a major risk factor for heart disease. Blood pressure tends to increase with weight gain and age. It is not known why obesity is a major cause of high blood pressure. However, research has shown that obese patients displayed an increase in blood volume and arterial resistance causing more stress to the heart. For people who are overweight and have high blood pressure, losing as little as 8 pounds can help reduce blood pressure to a safe level.
2. Diabetes – Obesity is considered one of the most significant factors in the development of insulin resistance, and insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes. According to the World Health Organization, more than 90 percent of diabetes patients worldwide have type 2 diabetes. Being overweight or obese contributes to the development of diabetes by making cells more resistant to the effects of insulin. A weight loss of 15-20 pounds can help you decrease your risk of developing type 2 diabetes
3. Heart Disease – According to the American Heart Association, obesity is a major risk factor for developing coronary heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. People who are overweight are at a greater risk of suffering a heart attack before the age of 45. Obese adolescents have a greater chance of having a heart attack before the age of 35 than non-obese adolescents. If you are overweight, losing 10-15 pounds can reduce your risk of developing heart disease. If you exercise regularly, the risk of developing heart disease falls even more.
4. High Cholesterol levels – High cholesterol is one of the leading causes of heart attacks. Cholesterol is transported through your blood in two ways: the low density lipoprotein (LDL), which transports cholesterol to the cells that need it, and the high density lipoprotein (HDL), which is the healthy cholesterol that reduces your risk for heart attack. Having high LDL levels raises your risk of having heart disease by 20 percent. Losing 11-20 pounds can help you significantly reduce your cholesterol level.
5. Cancer – A study by the American Heart Association found that being overweight increases your chances for developing cancer by 50 percent. Women have a higher risk of developing cancer if they are more than 20 pounds overweight. Regular exercise and a weight loss of as little as 12 pounds can significantly decrease the risk.
6. Infertility – Being obese can cause changes in the hormonal levels of women, which can result in ovarian failure. Women who are 15-25 pounds overweight are at a higher risk of suffering from infertility and ovarian cancer. Our bodies need to be at an appropriate weight to produce the right amount of hormones and regulate ovulation and menstruation. Don’t think men are immune to infertility. Overweight men have a greater chance of developing motility and a lower sperm count. Shedding 12-14 pounds can help you lower the risks.
7. Back Pain – Obesity is one the contributing factors of back and joint pain. Excessive weight can cause injury to the most vulnerable parts of the spine, which carries the body’s weight. When it has to carry excess weight, the odds of suffering from a spinal injury or structural damage increase. Being overweight also raises the risk of developing osteoporosis, lower back pain, arthritis, and osteoarthritis. Losing 10-15 pounds can help you decrease the risk of developing these problems.
8. Skin Ulcers & leading to infected ulcers – Obese and overweight individuals may have skin that folds over on itself. These creased areas can become irritated from the rubbing and sweating, which can cause alteration in the skin from a rash first forming to an actual ulcer of the skin occuring that can lead to ulcer skin infections (local infections) that can go further into systemic infections (which is an infection throughout the circulatory system).
9. Gastric Ulcers – According to a study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), obesity can be a contributing factor to the development of gastric ulcers. Gastric ulcers occur when there is an imbalance between the amount of hydrochloric acid that is secreted and the enzyme pepsin. Overweight men are at a greater risk of developing gastric ulcers than women. A weight loss of as little as 7 pounds can help reduce the risk.
10. Gallstones – Being severely overweight increases the risk of developing gallstones, especially in women. Gallstones are caused when the liver releases excessive amounts of bile, which is stored in the gallbladder. Gallstones are more common in older women and those with a family history of gallstones. Losing 4-9 pounds reduces the risk of developing gallstones. Moderate exercise also can help lower your risk.
If you suffer from type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, cardiac disease including high blood pressure or cholesterol and need to lose weight I can help you manage the disease through nutrition and fitness education including behavior modification. You will learn healthy habits that will help you lose weight through Dr. Anderson, as one reference.
References
American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health, mediweightlossclinics.com and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus.”
Throughout the course of history, disease outbreaks have ravaged humanity, sometimes changing the course of history and, at times, signaling the end of entire civilizations. Here are 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics, dating from prehistoric to modern times.
1. Prehistoric epidemic: Circa 3000 B.C.
The discovery of a 5,000-year-old house in China filled with skeletons is evidence of a deadly epidemic. (Image credit: Photo courtesy Chinese Archaeology)
About 5,000 years ago, an epidemic wiped out a prehistoric village in China. The bodies of the dead were stuffed inside a house that was later burned down. No age group was spared, as the skeletons of juveniles, young adults and middle-age people were found inside the house. The archaeological site is now called “Hamin Mangha” and is one of the best-preserved prehistoric sites in northeastern China. Archaeological and anthropological study indicates that the epidemic happened quickly enough that there was no time for proper burials, and the site was not inhabited again.
Before the discovery of Hamin Mangha, another prehistoric mass burial that dates to roughly the same time period was found at a site called Miaozigou, in northeastern China. Together, these discoveries suggest that an epidemic ravaged the entire region.
2. Plague of Athens: 430 B.C.
Remains of the Parthenon, one of the buildings on the acropolis of Athens. The city experienced a five year pandemic around 430 B.C. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Around 430 B.C., not long after a war between Athens and Sparta began, an epidemic ravaged the people of Athens and lasted for five years. Some estimates put the death toll as high as 100,000 people. The Greek historian Thucydides (460-400 B.C.) wrote that “people in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath” (translation by Richard Crawley from the book “The History of the Peloponnesian War,” London Dent, 1914).
What exactly this epidemic was has long been a source of debate among scientists; a number of diseases have been put forward as possibilities, including typhoid fever and Ebola. Many scholars believe that overcrowding caused by the war exacerbated the epidemic. Sparta’s army was stronger, forcing the Athenians to take refuge behind a series of fortifications called the “long walls” that protected their city. Despite the epidemic, the war continued on, not ending until 404 B.C., when Athens was forced to capitulate to Sparta.
3. Antonine Plague: A.D. 165-180
Roman soldiers likely brought smallpox home with them, giving rise to the Antonine Plague. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
When soldiers returned to the Roman Empire from campaigning, they brought back more than the spoils of victory. The Antonine Plague, which may have been smallpox, laid waste to the army and may have killed over 5 million people in the Roman empire, wrote April Pudsey, a senior lecturer in Roman History at Manchester Metropolitan University, in a paper published in the book “Disability in Antiquity,” Routledge, 2017).
Many historians believe that the epidemic was first brought into the Roman Empire by soldiers returning home after a war against Parthia. The epidemic contributed to the end of the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace), a period from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180, when Rome was at the height of its power. After A.D. 180, instability grew throughout the Roman Empire, as it experienced more civil wars and invasions by “barbarian” groups. Christianity became increasingly popular in the time after the plague occurred.
4. Plague of Cyprian: A.D. 250-271
The remains found where a bonfire incinerated many of the victims of an ancient epidemic in the city of Thebes in Egypt. (Image credit: N.Cijan/Associazione Culturale per lo Studio dell’Egitto e del Sudan ONLUS)
Named after St. Cyprian, a bishop of Carthage (a city in Tunisia) who described the epidemic as signaling the end of the world, the Plague of Cyprian is estimated to have killed 5,000 people a day in Rome alone. In 2014, archaeologists in Luxor found what appears to be a mass burial site of plague victims. Their bodies were covered with a thick layer of lime (historically used as a disinfectant). Archaeologists found three kilns used to manufacture lime and the remains of plague victims burned in a giant bonfire.
Experts aren’t sure what disease caused the epidemic. “The bowels, relaxed into a constant flux, discharge the bodily strength [and] a fire originated in the marrow ferments into wounds of the fauces (an area of the mouth),” Cyprian wrote in Latin in a work called “De mortalitate” (translation by Philip Schaff from the book “Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix,” Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1885).
5. Plague of Justinian: A.D. 541-542
A mosaic of Emperor Justinian and his supporters. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The Byzantine Empire was ravaged by the bubonic plague, which marked the start of its decline. The plague reoccurred periodically afterward. Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of the world’s population died.
The plague is named after the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (reigned A.D. 527-565). Under his reign, the Byzantine Empire reached its greatest extent, controlling territory that stretched from the Middle East to Western Europe. Justinian constructed a great cathedral known as Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the empire’s capital. Justinian also got sick with the plague and survived; however, his empire gradually lost territory in the time after the plague struck.
History.com states it did a killing of an estimated 30 to 50 million people, perhaps half of the world’s population. Covid Not Close to that in deaths!!
6. The Black Death: 1346-1353
Illustration from Liber chronicarum, 1. CCLXIIII; Skeletons are rising from the dead for the dance of death. (Image credit: Anton Koberger, 1493/Public domain)
The Black Death traveled from Asia to Europe, leaving devastation in its wake. Some estimates suggest that it wiped out over half of Europe’s population. It was caused by a strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis that is likely extinct today and was spread by fleas on infected rodents. The bodies of victims were buried in mass graves.
The plague changed the course of Europe’s history. With so many dead, labor became harder to find, bringing about better pay for workers and the end of Europe’s system of serfdom. Studies suggest that surviving workers had better access to meat and higher-quality bread. The lack of cheap labor may also have contributed to technological innovation.
Over five years, the Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe—almost one-third of the continent’s population.
Covid not even close to wiping out 1/3 of our world’s population. Covid is nothing in comparison. We must look at the world’s population at the time and counts of deaths! Pandemics occur and we won’t stop them but with better knowledge, technology and medicine we can decrease them!!
7. Cocoliztli epidemic: 1545-1548
Aztec Ruins National Monument. (Image credit: USGS)
The infection that caused the cocoliztli epidemic was a form of viral hemorrhagic fever that killed 15 million inhabitants of Mexico and Central America. Among a population already weakened by extreme drought, the disease proved to be utterly catastrophic. “Cocoliztli” is the Aztec word for “pest.”
A recent study that examined DNA from the skeletons of victims found that they were infected with a subspecies of Salmonella known as S. paratyphi C, which causes enteric fever, a category of fever that includes typhoid. Enteric fever can cause high fever, dehydration and gastrointestinal problems and is still a major health threat today.
8. American Plagues: 16th century
Painting by O. Graeff (1892) of Hernán Cortéz and his troops. The Spanish conqueror was able to capture Aztec cities left devastated by smallpox. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The American Plagues are a cluster of Eurasian diseases brought to the Americas by European explorers. These illnesses, including smallpox, contributed to the collapse of the Inca and Aztec civilizations. Some estimates suggest that 90% of the indigenous population in the Western Hemisphere was killed off.
Covid is not even a comparison to this!
The diseases helped a Spanish force led by Hernán Cortés conquer the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in 1519 and another Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro conquer the Incas in 1532. The Spanish took over the territories of both empires. In both cases, the Aztec and Incan armies had been ravaged by disease and were unable to withstand the Spanish forces. When citizens of Britain, France, Portugal and the Netherlands began exploring, conquering and settling the Western Hemisphere, they were also helped by the fact that disease had vastly reduced the size of any indigenous groups that opposed them.
9. Great Plague of London: 1665-1666
A model re-enactment of the 1666 Great Fire of London. The fire occured right after the city suffered through a devastating plague. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The Black Death’s last major outbreak in Great Britain caused a mass exodus from London, led by King Charles II. The plague started in April 1665 and spread rapidly through the hot summer months. Fleas from plague-infected rodents were one of the main causes of transmission. By the time the plague ended, about 100,000 people, including 15% of the population of London, had died. But this was not the end of that city’s suffering. On Sept. 2, 1666, the Great Fire of London started, lasting for four days and burning down a large portion of the city.
10. Great Plague of Marseille: 1720-1723
Present day view of Saint Jean Castle and Cathedral de la Major and the Vieux port in Marseille, France. Up to 30% of the population of Marseille died as a result of a three-year plague epidemic in the 1720s. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
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Historical records say that the Great Plague of Marseille started when a ship called Grand-Saint-Antoine docked in Marseille, France, carrying a cargo of goods from the eastern Mediterranean. Although the ship was quarantined, plague still got into the city, likely through fleas on plague-infected rodents.
Plague spread quickly, and over the next three years, as many as 100,000 people may have died in Marseille and surrounding areas. It’s estimated that up to 30% of the population of Marseille may have perished.
Covid did not kill off or perish 30% in one country!
11. Russian plague: 1770-1772
Portrait of Catherine II by Vigilius Erichsen (ca. 1757-1772). Even Catherine the Great couldn’t bring Russia back from the devastation caused by the 1770 plague. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
In plague-ravaged Moscow, the terror of quarantined citizens erupted into violence. Riots spread through the city and culminated in the murder of Archbishop Ambrosius, who was encouraging crowds not to gather for worship.
The empress of Russia, Catherine II (also called Catherine the Great), was so desperate to contain the plague and restore public order that she issued a hasty decree ordering that all factories be moved from Moscow. By the time the plague ended, as many as 100,000 people may have died. Even after the plague ended, Catherine struggled to restore order. In 1773, Yemelyan Pugachev, a man who claimed to be Peter III (Catherine’s executed husband), led an insurrection that resulted in the deaths of thousands more.
12. Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic: 1793
Painting of George Washington’s second inauguration at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, March 4, 1793. An epidemic of yellow fever hit Philadelphia hard in the first half of 1793. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
When yellow fever seized Philadelphia, the United States’ capital at the time, officials wrongly believed that slaves were immune. As a result, abolitionists called for people of African origin to be recruited to nurse the sick.
The disease is carried and transmitted by mosquitoes, which experienced a population boom during the particularly hot and humid summer weather in Philadelphia that year. It wasn’t until winter arrived — and the mosquitoes died out — that the epidemic finally stopped. By then, more than 5,000 people had died.
13. Flu pandemic: 1889-1890
Wood engraving showing nurses attending to patients in Paris during the 1889-90 flu pandemic. The pandemic killed an estimated 1 million people. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
In the modern industrial age, new transport links made it easier for influenza viruses to wreak havoc. In just a few months, the disease spanned the globe, killing 1 million people. It took just five weeks for the epidemic to reach peak mortality.
The earliest cases were reported in Russia. The virus spread rapidly throughout St. Petersburg before it quickly made its way throughout Europe and the rest of the world, despite the fact that air travel didn’t exist yet.
14. American polio epidemic: 1916
Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial in Washington, D.C. President Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio in 1921, at the age of 39. Polio killed thousands until the development of the Salk vaccine in 1954. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
A polio epidemic that started in New York City caused 27,000 cases and 6,000 deaths in the United States. The disease mainly affects children and sometimes leaves survivors with permanent disabilities.
Polio epidemics occurred sporadically in the United States until the Salk vaccine was developed in 1954. As the vaccine became widely available, cases in the United States declined. The last polio case in the United States was reported in 1979. Worldwide vaccination efforts have greatly reduced the disease, although it is not yet completely eradicated.
15. Spanish Flu: 1918-1920
Emergency hospital during influenza epidemic, Camp Funston, Kansas. (Image credit: Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Medicine)
An estimated 500 million people from the South Seas to the North Pole fell victim to Spanish Flu. One-fifth of those died, with some indigenous communities pushed to the brink of extinction. The flu’s spread and lethality was enhanced by the cramped conditions of soldiers and poor wartime nutrition that many people were experiencing during World War I.
Despite the name Spanish Flu, the disease likely did not start in Spain. Spain was a neutral nation during the war and did not enforce strict censorship of its press, which could therefore freely publish early accounts of the illness. As a result, people falsely believed the illness was specific to Spain, and the name Spanish Flu stuck.
Almost exactly 100 years ago, one-third of the world’s population found itself infected in a deadly viral pandemic. It was the Spanish flu. Its death toll is unknown but is generally considerd to be more than 50 million.
Covid not even close!
16. Asian Flu: 1957-1958
Chickens being tested for the avian flu. An outbreak of the avian flu killed 1 million people in the late 1950s. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The Asian Flu pandemic was another global showing for influenza. With its roots in China, the disease claimed more than 1 million lives. The virus that caused the pandemic was a blend of avian flu viruses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that the disease spread rapidly and was reported in Singapore in February 1957, Hong Kong in April 1957, and the coastal cities of the United States in the summer of 1957. The total death toll was more than 1.1 million worldwide, with 116,000 deaths occurring in the United States.
17. AIDS pandemic and epidemic: 1981-present day
AIDS became a global pandemic in the 1980s and continues as an epidemic in certain parts of the world. (Image credit: Mario Suriani/Associated Press, via the New York Historical Society)
AIDS has claimed an estimated 35 million lives since it was first identified. HIV, which is the virus that causes AIDS, likely developed from a chimpanzee virus that transferred to humans in West Africa in the 1920s. The virus made its way around the world, and AIDS was a pandemic by the late 20th century. Now, about 64% of the estimated 40 million living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) live in sub-Saharan Africa.
For decades, the disease had no known cure, but medication developed in the 1990s now allows people with the disease to experience a normal life span with regular treatment. Even more encouraging, two people have been cured of HIV as of early 2020.
Through UNAIDS (unaids.org) states:
People living with HIV
In 2019, there were 38.0 million [31.6 million–44.5 million] people living with HIV.
36.2 million [30.2 million–42.5 million] adults.
1.8 million [1.3 million–2.2 million] children (0–14 years).
81% [68–95%] of all people living with HIV knew their HIV status.
About 7.1 million people did not know that they were living with HIV.
18. H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic: 2009-2010
A nurse walking by a triage tent set up outside of the emergency room at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch, California on April 30, 2009. The hospital was preparing for a potential flood of patients worried they might have swine flu. (Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The 2009 swine flu pandemic was caused by a new strain of H1N1 that originated in Mexico in the spring of 2009 before spreading to the rest of the world. In one year, the virus infected as many as 1.4 billion people across the globe and killed between 151,700 and 575,400 people, according to the CDC.
The 2009 flu pandemic primarily affected children and young adults, and 80% of the deaths were in people younger than 65, the CDC reported. That was unusual, considering that most strains of flu viruses, including those that cause seasonal flu, cause the highest percentage of deaths in people ages 65 and older. But in the case of the swine flu, older people seemed to have already built up enough immunity to the group of viruses that H1N1 belongs to, so weren’t affected as much. A vaccine for the H1N1 virus that caused the swine flu is now included in the annual flu vaccine.
Related: How does the COVID-19 pandemic compare to the last pandemic?
19. West African Ebola epidemic: 2014-2016
Health care workers put on protective gear before entering an Ebola treatment unit in Liberia during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. (Image credit: CDC/Sally Ezra/Athalia Christie (Public Domain))
Ebola ravaged West Africa between 2014 and 2016, with 28,600 reported cases and 11,325 deaths. The first case to be reported was in Guinea in December 2013, then the disease quickly spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The bulk of the cases and deaths occurred in those three countries. A smaller number of cases occurred in Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, the United States and Europe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
There is no cure for Ebola, although efforts at finding a vaccine are ongoing. The first known cases of Ebola occurred in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976, and the virus may have originated in bats.
20. Zika Virus epidemic: 2015-present day
A worker sprays pesticide to kill mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. Zika is most prevalent in the tropics. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The impact of the recent Zika epidemic in South America and Central America won’t be known for several years. In the meantime, scientists face a race against time to bring the virus under control. The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, although it can also be sexually transmitted in humans.
While Zika is usually not harmful to adults or children, it can attack infants who are still in the womb and cause birth defects. The type of mosquitoes that carry Zika flourish best in warm, humid climates, making South America, Central America and parts of the southern United States prime areas for the virus to flourish.
As of 12/14/2o2o Coronavirus
Cases
72.4M
Recovered
47.4M
Deaths
1.61M
Cases: 72.4 M
Deaths: 21,177 M
Recovered: 47.4 M
World’s Population: 7.593 Billion in 2018
So what can you do stay home, protect yourself when you go outdoors, stay outdoors in stores in the smallest amount time needed. Stay in touch with family, friends, and the outside world via phone and internet! It maybe a difficult time but history has gone though pandemics before and have survived and we are not touching many previous ones that have happened in numbers. When you panic logic and reasoning are terribly effected or just not used! Regarding COVID-19 you need to think logically and reasonably to help yourself and others.
-“This year’s flu vaccine has been 45% effective against the flu so far this season, new CDC figures show.
-It worked better against the B strain of the flu (50% effective) than the A strain (37% effective.) And overall it worked better in children and teens ages 6 months to 17, with a 55% effectiveness rate.
-The effectiveness rate for vaccines typically ranges from 40% to 60%, the CDC says, and the vaccine can help prevent illness, hospitalization and death.
-The news come as flu activity remains high.
-After increasing for several weeks, the number of cases descreased slightly, the CDC says.
-An A strain of flu remains more common now. Earlier in the season, a B strain was more common.”
“Vaccinations and better education about hygiene and public safety help reduce the number of flu infections each year. But influenza can affect anyone of any age group. Certain populations are more at risk for serious health complications from the flu: children under the age of five, especially those two years and younger, children 18 and under who take aspirin or medications that contain salicylate, adults ages 65 years and older, people with serious medical conditions including those immunosuppressed, people with severe obesity & American Indian and Native Alaskan people.”
As of January 2018 here is what was factual about the flu:
Flu season January 2018 was off to an early — and severe — start, with rates of hospitalizations and deaths from flu higher than what’s typical for this time of year.
December 14, 2018 by Steven Reinberg, Healthday Reporter. (HealthDay)—Flu season is getting off to a slow but steady start, a U.S. health official said that year and will it be the same at the end of 2020.
“Flu activity now is still fairly low, but as expected we have been seeing activity slowly increasing over the last few weeks,” said Alicia Budd, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a crystal ball to know how badly we are going to fare during this flu season,” Budd said.
Peak activity can occur anytime between December and February, she said. So we are not out of the clinch with the Flu time at its time of peak. The most common type of flu around now is influenza A H1N1, which is accounting for about 80 percent of the flu viruses being reported, Budd said.
In addition, another A strain, H3N2, is also being seen, making up about 20 percent of the viruses reported 2019, she said.
“H3N2 is out there and was 2019, but at much lower levels than we saw 2018,” Budd said. It was that strain that made flu so severe last year, when 1 million people were hospitalized and 80,000 died.
Both of these types of flu are included in this season’s flu vaccine, as well as one or two influenza B strains. This year’s vaccine seems well matched to these strains, so it will most likely be more effective than last year’s vaccine, Budd said.
Because H1N1 is the predominant flu strain around now, she thinks the vaccine’s effectiveness could be as high as 65 percent.
It’s not too late to get vaccinated,Budd said. If you haven’t gotten a flu shot, it’s time, she said. It can take up to two weeks for your body to mount a protective immune response.
The most common type of flu around 2019 is influenza A H1N1, which is accounting for about 80 percent of the flu viruses being reported, Budd said.
Influenza A still is the most common type of flu!
But why was the flu so bad 2019 year?
During the week that ended Dec. 30 2017 (the most recent period for which data is available), 46 states reported widespread flu activity, up from 36 states the week before, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At this time 2017 last year, just 12 states reported widespread flu activity.
What’s more, the rate of flu hospitalizations from the beginning of October to the end of December 2017 was about 14 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, according to CDC data. The rate was highest among adults ages 65 and older, at about 57 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. At the time Jan 2017, the rate of flu hospitalizations was just 5 hospitalizations per 100,000 people.
The flu is notoriously unpredictable, with the timing, severity and length of flu season varying from year to year, according to the CDC.
But the relatively harsh season 2019 the U.S. was having is likely related to the particular flu strains that are circulating, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
“The year 2019 was particularly bad because it’s dominated by the H3N2 [flu strain], which tends to be more severe and causes more severe symptoms than other strains of flu,” Adalja told Live Science. Indeed, flu seasons in which the H3N2 strain predominates tend to have higher overall flu hospitalization and death rates, according to the CDC.
Officials can’t predict what the final outcome for flu season will be this year in terms of illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths, but Adalja suspects it will be a notable one.
“I don’t know what the final tally will be in this flu season 2019, [but] I suspect it will be one of the worst ones we’ve had in recent years,” Adalja said. Just like every year someone states it will be the worst year.
Another factor that may affect the severity of a flu season is whether the flu strains included in the yearly flu shot match the ones circulating in the public. So far this year, the circulating flu strains do appear to match the flu strains that were selected for the vaccine, according to a recent CDC report.
However, to make the flu vaccine, manufacturers typically use chicken eggs to “grow” the flu virus strains. During this process, the flu strains may acquire genetic changes that make the strains slightly different from those in circulation.
“You don’t end up with the same vaccine viruses that you started with” because of these genetic changes, Adalja said. This appears to have happened with the H3N2 component of this year’s flu vaccine, according to the CDC, and the changes may lower the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Researchers are finding that yearly flu shots are typically less effective against H3N2, compared with other strains of flu. A study published in 2016 found that, from 2004 to 2015, the flu shot was only 33 percent effective against H3N2 viruses, compared with 61 percent effective against H1N1 and 54 percent effective against influenza B viruses, which are another strain. This may be because, compared with other flu viruses, H3N2 viruses are more likely to acquire genetic changes that impact the effectiveness of the vaccine, the CDC said.
Health officials still recommend a yearly flu vaccine for everyone ages 6 months and older, because it’s still the best way to prevent flu. And studies have found that, even if a person does catch the flu, their illness is milder if they’ve been vaccinated. “Even lower levels of protection” are better than none, Adalja said.
The virus can directly cause death, Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, told Live Science in 2016. This occurs when the flu virus causes such overwhelming inflammation in a person’s lungs that they die due to respiratory failure. Severe damage to the lungs makes it impossible for enough oxygen to pass through the lung tissue into the blood, leading to death. [Flu Shot Facts & Side Effects (Updated for 2017-2018)]
When someone dies directly from the flu, it happens very quickly, Adalja added.
The flu can also kill indirectly, meaning that the virus makes a person more susceptible to other health problems, and these health problems lead to death. For example, getting sick with the flu can make certain groups of people, such as older adults and people with chronic illnesses, more susceptible to bacteria that cause pneumonia, according to the Mayo Clinic. “Pneumonia is the most serious complication” of the flu and can be deadly, the Mayo Clinic says.
When a person with the flu gets pneumonia, the pneumonia is considered a secondary bacterial infection, Adalja said. (Pneumonia can be caused by either a virus or bacteria; in the case of a secondary infection after flu, it is caused by bacteria.) Death from such secondary infections usually occurs about a week or so after the person first got sick, because it takes time for the secondary infection to set in, Adalja said.
The flu can lead to death in other ways as well. People with the flu can experience “multiple organ failure” throughout their body (in order words, multiple organs stop working properly), which can be deadly, Adalja said.
The flu can also trigger other serious complications, including inflammation of the heart, brain or muscle tissues, according to the CDC. Infection can also lead to an extreme, body-wide inflammatory response known as sepsis, which can be life-threatening, the CDC says.
The 2017–2018 flu season has been particularly harsh, partially because the predominant strain of flu that’s spreading, H3N2, tends to cause more severe symptoms than other strains, Live Science reported the month of January 2018. And although the flu strains circulating this 2019 do match up with those covered in the season’s flu vaccine, an odd phenomenon may have occurred during the vaccine-making process inside chicken eggs. During that process, flu strains can acquire genetic changes, and this may have happened for the H3N2 component of the vaccine, Adalja said previously.
When we had not reached the end of February 2019 yet, we reached a point by CDC stating the following:
“Influenza activity in the United States during the 2017–2018 season began to increase in November and remained at high levels for several weeks during January–February. While influenza A(H3N2) viruses predominated through February, and were predominant overall for the season, influenza B viruses were more commonly reported starting in March, 2018. The season had high severity with unusually high levels of outpatient influenza-like illness, hospitalizations rates, and proportions of pneumonia and influenza-associated deaths.
CDC estimates that the burden of illness during the 2017–2018 season was also high with an estimated 48.8 million people getting sick with influenza, 22.7 million people going to a health care provider, 959,000 hospitalizations, and 79,400 deaths from influenza. The number of cases of influenza-associated illness that occurred last season was the highest since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, when an estimated 60 million people were sick with influenza.
The 2017–2018 influenza season was additionally atypical in that it was severe for all ages of the population. The burden of influenza and the rates of influenza-associated hospitalization are generally higher for the very young and the very old, and while this was also true during the 2017–2018 season, rates of hospitalization in all age groups were the highest seasonal rates seen since hospital-based surveillance was expanded in 2005 to include all ages. This translated into an estimated 11.5 million cases of influenza in children, 30 million cases of influenza in working age adults (aged 18-64 years), and more than 7.3 million cases in adults aged 65 years and older.
Our estimates of hospitalizations and mortality associated with the 2017–2018 influenza season continue to demonstrate how severe influenza virus infection can be. We estimate overall, there were 959,000 hospitalizations and 79,400 deaths during the 2017–2018 season. More than 48,000 hospitalizations occurred in children (aged < 18 years); however, 70% of hospitalizations occurred in older adults aged ≥65 years. Older adults also accounted for 90% of deaths, highlighting that older adults are particularly vulnerable to severe disease with influenza virus infection. An estimated 10,300 deaths occurred among working age adults (aged 18–64 years), an age group that often has low influenza vaccination.”
What does this all mean? Get the Influenza Vaccine for PREVENTION of the flu and Prevention of an Epidemic rising. Help yourself and community!
References: CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & Health Day
“Sadly thousands of children are injured every year as a result of playing with unsafe or non age appropriate toys. The United States Comsumer Product Safety Commision has created a robust toy safety system, by requiring testing by independent, third party testing laboratories around the world; enforcing stringent lead and phthalates limits for toys; imposing some of the most stringent toy standards in the world; and stopping violative and dangerous toys at the ports and in the marketplace before they reach children’s hands. While the work that is undertaken by the CPSC goes a long way in protecting our young people (and adults) there are still many toy related injuries that take place- in 2010 251,7000 toy related accidents were reported in hospital emergency rooms across the US.”
“While some hosts may prefer to hold virtual events in lieu of in-person gatherings, employers that choose to host in-person events may want to refer to the CDC guidance, as well as state and local resources, to help weigh the associated risks and implement measures to create a safe, healthy and enjoyable environment for all in attendance.”
When going to a party or gathering, bring a nutritious but festive dish to share! Something like a salad, a veggie platter, a fruit salad, or healthy homemade snacks. This ensures that there is at least something healthy to eat! Some cute ideas include: Fruit Grinch Santa’s, Fruit Tree, Banana Snow men, Grape and Cheese Christmas Tree Platter, & String Cheese Snowmen.
When you know you’ll be out and about Christmas shopping, running errands, or going to festivities, plan ahead and never leave the house without a healthy snack. This way, if you can’t find any healthy option, you don’t starve and give in to the temptations. Things such as homemade energy balls or bars, low-sugar trail mix, fruit and cheese, or veggies and hummus can make for great, and filling, snacks. Aim to eat regularly to avoid overeating, especially of the wrong foods!
On Christmas day, make a balanced and healthy breakfast! Include some fresh fruit and healthy protein. Making a yummy breakfast Christmas morning can be healthy and fun, like whole grain pancakes shaped as a reindeer face. This can be a great way all around to enjoy and look forward to healthy foods!
While not everyone is going to completely abstain from any and all sweets and festive foods during the holidays, at least aim to load up your plate with the healthy, nutritious options first. This will dull your hunger and appetite so you are less likely to overeat the bad stuff! This is also a good time to practice portion control, especially when it comes to the desserts and high-sugar drinks.
Instead of dessert, or at least instead of a full serving of dessert, have a cup of herbal tea prior to eating the sweets. The tea will help make you feel full and less likely to scarf down the treats, while also providing some antioxidants!
Set goals for yourself and have a support group. Having a friend or family member to set goals with can be a great way to stay motivated and accountable during this particularly tempting time. Make goals like maintaining your workout schedule or avoiding processed sugar during the holidays. Having a friend working towards a goal with you helps you stay focused and on track!
There is always Exercise. Keeping on track with your normal exercise routine is especially difficult with the extra business around the holidays. But making it a priority to exercise regularly this time of year not only helps you stay on track, but also helps decrease your appetite for junk food!
Don’t keep tempting things around the house. Friends and neighbors commonly deliver sweets and treats during this time of year, and while we all genuinely appreciate the sincere gesture of friendship and kindness, keeping and eating all the cookies and treats delivered to you doesn’t do you any good! If necessary, take a bite or two, but toss the rest (or maybe re-gift it) so it’s not there tempting you to indulge.
Drink plenty of water. Make sure, as you go throughout your day, you are sufficiently hydrated. Even slight dehydration can trick us into thinking we’re hungry, and, therefore, we are more likely to overeat and give in to those treats!
Don’t be afraid to say no. If you know you’ll be going to a party or event that won’t offer any nutritious options, eat before you go. This way you won’t have to turn to the high sugar, high calorie, high fat foods that don’t promote health and fitness.
Always remember that your health is up to you! There are a multitude of ideas and tips on resources such as positive direction to help make your favorite dishes and snacks healthier but still fun and festive! Try to branch out this year and do a healthy makeover of your favorite traditional holiday goodies with even some healthy new modern dishes so you’re not left feeling overweight or unhealthy after the season is over! Where you don’t regret the passing holiday but have a great memory of what your holiday season was like! Enjoy and happy holidays!
A Healthier Heart
