Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Flu |
FluNoun1. An acute febrile highly contagious viral disease. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Influenza or as it is commonly known the flu is a contagious disease caused by an RNA virus of the orthomyxoviridae family. The name comes from the old medical belief in unfavourable astrological influences as the cause of the disease.
There are three types of the virus:
The A type of virus is the most virulent and causes epidemics and pandemics. Where a finer grained classification of the virus strain is needed, this is done by reference to the structural forms of two viral proteins (haemaglutinin and neuraminidase) that are essential to the virus' life cycle. Thus one might speak of H1N1 or H3N2 viral strains.
- Influenza A viruses that infect mammals (humans, pigs, ferrets, horses) and birds
- Influenza B viruses that infect only humans
- Influenza C viruses that infect only humans
The virus attacks the respiratory tract, is transmitted from person to person by droplets, and causes the following symptoms:
Although a lot of people in the western world will often call a heavy cold "flu", you know when you have got real influenza as its effects are much more severe and last longer. Typically influenza takes about 1-2 weeks to recover from. Flu can be a killer disease, especially for the weak, old or chronically ill. Some flu pandemics have killed millions of people, for example the "Spanish Flu" pandemic of 1918-1919, which is believed to have killed more people in total than World War I.
- Fever
- Headache
- Tiredness (can be extreme)
- Dry cough
- Sore throat
- Nasal congestion and sneezing
- Body aches
Most people who get influenza will recover in one to two weeks, but some people will develop life-threatening complications (such as pneumonia) as a result of the flu. Millions of people in the United States — about 10% to 20% of U.S. residents — will get influenza each year. An average of about 36,000 people per year in the United States die from influenza, and 114,000 per year have to be admitted to the hospital as a result of influenza. Anyone can get the flu (even healthy people), and serious problems from influenza can happen at any age. People age 65 years and older, people of any age with chronic medical conditions, and very young children are more likely to get complications from influenza. Pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections are three examples of complications from flu.
The flu can make chronic health problems worse. For example, people with asthma may experience asthma attacks while they have the flu, and people with chronic congestive heart failure may have worsening of this condition that is triggered by the flu.
Influenza is an extremely variable disease: similar viruses are found in pigs and domestic fowl. In areas where there are high concentrations of humans, pigs and birds in close proximity, such as parts of Asia, simultaneous infections across species enable genetic material to be exchanged between the various strains of flu. This appears to be the principal method by which new infectious strains arise. It is believed that sooner or later, a recombination may occur to produce a strain as lethal as the 1918 virus. In late 1997, a new strain of influenza originating from chickens infected 18 people in Hong Kong, of whom 6 died. This strain did not appear to be readily transmissible from human to human, but such a high mortality rate, and the possibility of a further recombination to make it more infectious, meant that the risk was considered so great that all domestic poultry in Hong Kong was slaughtered. As of April 2002, there have been no further human infections with this particular strain.
Prevention
It is possible to get vaccinated against Influenza, however due to the high mutability of the virus the vaccine is usually only good for a year or so. The World Health Organization co-ordinates the contents of the vaccine each year to contain the most likely strains of the virus to attack the next year. The vaccine is usually recommended for anyone in a high-risk group who may suffer complications from a real flu attack.
Treatment
Antiviral treatments :
- Amantadine
- Rimantadine
- Oselatamivir
The Myth of the "Stomach Flu"
Many people use the term "stomach flu" to describe illnesses with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. These symptoms can be caused by many different viruses, bacteria, or even parasites. While vomiting, diarrhea, and being nauseous or “sick to your stomach” can sometimes be related to the flu — particularly in children — these problems are rarely the main symptoms of influenza. The flu is a respiratory disease and not a stomach or intestinal disease.
See also: Infectious diseases, Pandemic
External Links
Some of this article has been taken from the public domain CDC publication http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/fluinfo.htm
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Influenza."
Synonym: FluSynonym: grippe (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Disease | Ague, angina pectoris, appendicitis; Asiatic cholera, spasmodic cholera; biliary calculus, kidney stone, black death, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague; blennorrhagia, blennorrhoea; blood poisoning, bloodstroke, bloody flux, brash; breakbone fever, dengue fever, malarial fever, Q-fever; heart attack, cardiac arrest, cardiomyopathy; hardening of the arteries, arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis; bronchocele, canker rash, cardialgia, carditis, endocarditis; cholera, asphyxia; chlorosis, chorea, cynanche, dartre; enanthem, enanthema; erysipelas; exanthem, exanthema; gallstone, goiter, gonorrhea, green sickness; grip, grippe, influenza, flu; hay fever, heartburn, heaves, rupture, hernia, hemorrhoids, piles, herpes, itch, king's evil, lockjaw; measles, mumps, polio; necrosis, pertussis, phthisis, pneumonia, psora, pyaemia, pyrosis, quinsy, rachitis, ringworm, rubeola, St. Vitus's dance, scabies, scarlatina, scarlet fever, scrofula, seasickness, struma, syntexis, tetanus, tetter, tonsillitis, tonsilitis, tracheocele, trachoma, trismus, varicella, varicosis, variola, water qualm, whooping cough; yellow fever, yellow jack. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Flu |
| English words defined with "flu": injection ♦ Nerved manna grass ♦ shot. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "flu": neuraminidase ♦ Sussex wave energy converter. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Flu" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Indonesian (a cold, influenza), Turkish (blurred, out of focus). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | They cleared the forest, they dug up the land, and they gave us the flu. But they also brought power tools and penicillin and Ben and Jerry's ice cream (Northern Exposure; writing credit: Khadijah Hashim) You look like Dracula with the flu! (The Bill; writing credit: Richard Curtis; Rowan Atkinson) I must have caught the flu from Kenny (South Park; writing credit: Rocco Siffredi) You gotta decide what you wanta vote for, the flu or the measles (A Perfect Candidate; writing credit: Sean Silas; Renee Longstreet) | |
Lyrics | You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu ("The Cat's in the Cradle"; performing artist: Harry Chapin) | |
Tongue Twisters | Flee from fog to fight flu fast! (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Fairy Flu (1999) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Use of a jet injector during the 1976 New Jersey Influenza A immunization project. 45 million adults in the United States received a vaccine containing the A/New Jersey/76 influenzavirus ("swine flu" virus). Credit: CDC. |  | Lab technicians reading and checking serologies to determine presence of influenza A/NJ/8/76 (Swine Flu) and registering antibody rise to the swine influenza virus during vaccine testing trials. Credit: CDC. |
 | This is a photomicrograph of Brucella melitensis, the cause of Brucellosis. Symptoms are similar to flu and may also include severe infections of the central nervous systems, and the lining of the heart, or endocardium. Credit: CDC. |  | The flu vaccination shortage was caused by a slow-growing component of this year's vaccine formulation, along with production problems at two of the four pharmaceutical companies licensed to produce influenza vaccine in the United States. (File photo, 199. |
 | Richmond Borough President Robert Connor receives the symbolic first flu shot ... Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Make Your Winter More Bear-able... : Get Your Flu Shot This Fall. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | [Two men examining a vial possibly containing flu virus] / Roy Perry. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Should YOU Get a FLU Shot? : YES -. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | Keep Active. Keep Healthy. : Protect yourself against flu and pneumonia. See your doctor. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Flu Or Chicken Pox? Treat It Right!. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Pictures" by Lucian Binder Commentary: "Thats a corner of my living room. i like old pictures and graphics, and i buy them from the flu market." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Play | Caption |
 | Cough; illness; flu; influenza; cold; chest cold; coughing. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Persons with the flu can give it to other people. (references) | |
It is safe to get a flu shot if you are breastfeeding. (references) | ||
Influenza (the flu) is a contagious disease that is caused by the influenza virus. (references) | ||
Political Rights | Hong Kong | The Councils had been the subject of widespread public criticism for their poor handling of the Avian Flu, the Red Tide, and other public health issues for which they were responsible. (references) |
Trade | Honduras | In early April, 2001, Honduras embargoed Salvadoran poultry and egg exports after Honduran officials detected ten cases of avian flu in poultry shipments originating in El Salvador. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Flu" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.47% of the time. "Flu" is used about 569 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.47% | 566 | 11,110 |
| Unclassified Items | 0.18% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.18% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Noun (common) | 0.18% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 569 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "flu": asian flu ♦ asiatic flu ♦ be down with flu ♦ come down with the flu ♦ down and out wit flu ♦ down with flu ♦ G flu ♦ gastric flu ♦ go down with flu ♦ have flu ♦ hog flu ♦ intestinal flu ♦ pig flu ♦ stomach flu. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "flu": Flu-like, flu-ridden, flu-u-u-te. | |
Ending with "flu": anti-flu, full-of-flu, post-flu, Thera-Flu. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
flu | 473 | flu medication | 12 |
flu symptom | 243 | flu mist | 11 |
stomach flu | 212 | 1918 flu epidemic | 10 |
flu shot | 152 | flu summer | 9 |
cold flu | 128 | flu uk vaccination | 9 |
spanish flu | 59 | flu medicine | 9 |
stomach flu symptom | 39 | swine flu | 9 |
flu remedy | 30 | 24 flu hour | 9 |
flu vaccine | 30 | flu season | 8 |
intestinal flu | 22 | cold flu vs | 8 |
flu like symptom | 21 | flu h | 8 |
cold and flu symptom | 20 | cold flu product relieve | 8 |
flu virus | 19 | flu 1918 | 7 |
cat flu | 18 | flu nasal vaccine | 7 |
cold flu remedy | 16 | flu bug | 7 |
flu cure | 15 | asian flu | 7 |
flu and pregnancy | 15 | flu epidemic | 7 |
flu relief | 15 | stomach flu remedy | 7 |
yuppie flu | 14 | flu during pregnancy | 7 |
flu treatment | 14 | natural flu remedy | 7 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "flu"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | griep (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Albanian | rrufë (catarrh, cold, flue, snifter), grip (grip, grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Arabic | الانفلونزا, رشح نزل. (various references) | |
Basque | gripe (influenza). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | грип (flue, grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Catalan | grip (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Chinese | 流感 (influenza). (various references) | |
Czech | chřipka (influenza). (various references) | |
Danish | influenza (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Dutch | influenza (grip, influenza), griep (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Esperanto | gripo (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Faeroese | krímsjúka (grip, influenza), krím (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Farsi | انفلوانزا(influenza=)(طب). (various references) | |
Finnish | sikainfluenssa (hog flu, pig flu, pig influenza, swine influenza), hän on sairastunut flunssaan (he has caught the flu). (various references) | |
French | grippe. (various references) | |
Frisian | gryp (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
German | Grippe (grip, grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Greek | γρίπη (grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Hebrew | שפעת (grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Hungarian | influenza (flue, grip, grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Indonesian | influensa (influenza). (various references) | |
Italian | influenza (ascendancy, control, grippe, hold, influence, influenza, leverage, pull). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 流行性感冒 (influenza), 流感 (cold, influenza). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | りゅうかん (cold, influenza, sweat), りゅうこうせいかんぼう (influenza). (various references) | |
Korean | 독감. (various references) | |
Manx | yn cleetchagh, floo (influenza). (various references) | |
Occitan | gripa (influenza). (various references) | |
Papiamen | grip (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | uflay.(various references) | |
Polish | grypa (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Portuguese | gripe (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Russian | грипп (flue, grip, grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | grip (grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Spanish | gripe (grip, grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Sranan | agrabu (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
Swedish | influensa (flue, influenza). (various references) | |
Thai | ไข้หวัดใหญ่. (various references) | |
Turkish | grip (grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Turkmen | grip (r), dьmew (common cold, virus). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | грип (grippe, influenza). (various references) | |
Welsh | anwydwst (influenza). (various references) | |
Zulu | imfluwenza (grip, influenza). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | influenza suum. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "flu": flub, flubbed, flubber, flubbers, flubbing, flubdub, flubdubs, flubs, fluctuant, fluctuate, fluctuated, fluctuates, fluctuating, fluctuation, fluctuational, fluctuations, flue, flued, fluegelhorn, fluegelhorns, fluencies, fluency, fluent, fluently, flueric, fluerics, flues, fluff, fluffed, fluffier, fluffiest, fluffily, fluffiness, fluffinesses, fluffing, fluffs, fluffy, flugelhorn, flugelhornist, flugelhornists, flugelhorns, fluid, fluidal, fluidally, fluidextract, fluidextracts, fluidic, fluidics, fluidise, fluidised, fluidises. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "flu": antiflu. (additional references) | |
Words containing "flu": affluence, affluences, affluencies, affluency, affluent, affluently, affluents, afflux, affluxes, aflutter, antifluoridationist, antifluoridationists, chlorofluorocarbon, chlorofluorocarbons, chlorofluoromethane, chlorofluoromethanes, circumfluent, circumfluous, confluence, confluences, confluent, confluents, conflux, confluxes, counterinfluence, counterinfluenced, counterinfluences, counterinfluencing, dichlorodifluoromethane, dichlorodifluoromethanes, effluence, effluences, effluent, effluents, effluvia, effluvium, effluviums, efflux, effluxes, effluxion, effluxions, immunofluorescence, immunofluorescences, immunofluorescent, influence, influenceable, influenced, influences, influencing, influent, influential. (additional references) | |
| |
"Flu" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: aflu, elu, falo, Falqui, falu, fau, Fclo, fcu, Fdu, Feliu, fiu, Flaum, flb, fle, fli, fliq, flj, flm, fln, floj, flou, flua, fluc, flud, fluf, flug, fluj, flum, flun, fluo, flup, fluq, flur, flus, flut, fou, Fpu, fru, fsu, fuh, fuln, fult, fulvum, fyllo, fyu, Iflo, nfl, ufu, ulu, Yfcu. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "flu" (pronounced fluw") |
| 3 | f l uw" | flew, flue. |
| 2 | -l uw" | blew, blue, clue, glue, hullabaloo, leu, lieu, loo, plew, slew, unglue. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words containing the letters "f-l-u" | |
+1 letter: flub, flue, flus, flux, foul, fuel, full, furl, gulf, luff. | |
+2 letters: afoul, awful, bluff, fauld, fault, filum, flour, flout, flubs, flued, flues, fluff, fluid, fluke, fluky, flume, flump, flung, flunk, fluor, flush, flute, fluty, fluyt, fouls, fuels, fugal, fugle, fulls, fully, furls, fusel, fusil, fuzil, gulfs, gulfy, luffa, luffs, sluff, sulfa, sulfo, woful. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Sounds 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Derivations | 17. Rhymes 18. Anagrams 19. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
