[Influenza--the last big epidemic. What makes it so dangerous?].
In Germany, influenza lays low millions--and causes up to 15,000 deaths--every year. Three factors in particular are responsible for the severity of the disease: the cytocidal action of the virus--which, via hematogeneous spread, can involve not only the respiratory tract but also other organs such as the heart--, the immune response with fever and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and bacterial superinfection of the virally predamaged respiratory mucosa. A particular threat is posed by influenza pandemics, which are usually associated with extremely high mortality and morbidity rates. The development of pandemics is furthered by the potential of the viral genome to undergo a so-called shift, as a result of which a reservoir of, for example, avian influenza A viruses can give rise to subtypes that are a danger to humans, and against which there is initially no protection. While the deaths caused by an epidemic are to be seen largely among old and multimorbid people, a pandemic also endangers the health and life of young and healthy persons.
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Robert-Koch-Institut, Berlin.
D002423:Cause of Death; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D040961:Genetic Drift; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000821:virology