Theinfluenzainfectionisanacutefeverishvirusinfectionoftherespiratorytract.Theinfectionmostlyresultsfromadropletinfectionandappearsasanepidemicorpandemy.Thevirusanditstoxincanleadtoaseriousinflammationofthebronchialmucosaandadamageofthevessels.Afteranincubationtimeof1to3daysthesymptomsappearsuddenly:Followedbyafastraiseoftemperature,oftenaccompaniedbyshivering,thele
ADIngsymptomofcatarrhalinflammationappears,contributingtotheclinicalcourseofpainfuldrycough,tracheitis,laryngitisandfrequentlyarhinitisandconjunctivitis.
TheInfluenzavirusesformavirusgroupwithprincipallysimilarmorphological,chemicaland
BIOLOGicalfeatures.ThetypesA,BandCweredefined,includingmanyothervariants.Thedifferentiationofthetypeswillbeposs
IBLebythedifferentantigenicityoftheirnucleoproteinsandtheirmatrixproteinswithtype-specificantigenicity.However,theessentialimmunodominantantigensarethehemagglutininandtheneuraminidase.Botharesurfaceantigensandshowapermanentchangeoftheirantigenicity,calleddriftorshift.TheappearancenewInfluenzaepidemicsandpandemiesarefacilitatedbyanantigenvari
ABIlity.
ThedeterminationoftheInfluenzatype(A,B,andC)givesboththeclinicianandepidemiologistimportantindicationsforfurtheractions.ThusInfluenzaBoftenleadstoaseriousclinicalcourseandanepidemicspreadofthevirus.Similarly,duringanInfluenzaAepidemic,theepidemiologicalimportanceandderivedmeasurementsoftheprotectionoftheindividualareimportant.
ForconcretedatapleaseconsulttheInstructionforUseinthedownloadboxontherightside.