Difference between influenza and SARS.

Influenza and ARVI are unpleasant, but the most common satellites of the off-season, which is why they insidiously overtake more than 90% of the population of our planet. Both of these diseases belong to the group of acute respiratory infections (acute respiratory diseases), or rather, to the group of viral infections. The most common representatives of ARVI are influenza, parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial disease, adenovirus and rhinovirus infection. In traditional medicine, it is customary to isolate influenza and its varieties from all viral infections, we will try to explain in detail in this article how to do this correctly. What is the difference between influenza and SARS?

Definition of diseases

ARVI is an acute respiratory viral infection, it includes all diseases of the respiratory tract with a viral etiology. Most viral infections, including influenza, are characterized by an acute onset of the disease: respiratory symptoms, an increase in body temperature above 38 C, weakness, sweating, lacrimation. The route of transmission of infection is airborne, while the infection spreads quite quickly and affects more than 80% of people who have been in contact with a sick patient. The reason for this is the inability of the human body to develop immunity to a viral infection, and the whole point is that every year viruses mutate and change. Treatment of any viral infection begins with the mandatory isolation of the patient and with the appointment of bed rest for five days, and sometimes more. In this case, the patient's condition can be both normal and moderate. In rare cases, the course of the disease can lead to complications and become severe. Of the drugs, antiviral, antipyretic, antihistamines and vitamins are prescribed.

Influenza - belongs to the category of ARVI, it is caused by the influenza virus and is considered one of the most insidious infectious diseases. This disease spreads across the planet in the form of global epidemics and pandemics, which annually claim from 250 to 500 thousand human lives. Currently, scientists know more than 2000 varieties of the virus, the most famous of which are H1N1 - swine flu, A / H1N1 - Spanish flu, as well as bird flu, which has become famous all over the world. Like any acute respiratory viral infection, influenza is transmitted by airborne droplets, but it is highly contagious. Since the incubation period of this disease is 2-4 days, the patient, not yet knowing about his illness, manages to infect up to a hundred people. Influenza begins acutely with symptoms of severe intoxication: dizziness, chills, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, sometimes in sleep disorders and hallucinations. Treatment of the disease includes bed rest, isolation of the patient from healthy people, taking antiviral drugs and symptomatic therapy.

How to distinguish one from the other

To distinguish SARS from influenza, a general practitioner must conduct a series of tests to determine the virus in a person's blood. Most often, this is done by sowing infected blood on special nutrient media, the determination of viruses using special antibodies and serological reactions, which make it possible to determine the concentration of antibodies to viruses in the patient's blood. Since all these tests are quite complex and expensive, in many medical institutions it is customary to diagnose "influenza" on the basis of information about the outbreak of the epidemic. At the same time, studies are carried out on the very first patients and if they confirm the presence of the influenza virus in the blood, then all subsequent cases up to the end of the epidemic are usually attributed to influenza infection.

Conclusions TheDifference.ru

  1. ARVI - definition of any viral infection, influenza is one of the varieties of ARVI, which is caused by the influenza virus.
  2. SARS - often causes an increase in the incidence, influenza is always the culprit of epidemics and pandemics.
  3. ARVI is characterized by a moderate course, influenza - a severe course with complications.
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