Gabriel Bonilla created a presentation to raise awareness about the flu virus. The presentation covered topics such as flu symptoms, how it spreads, prevention methods like vaccination, and lifestyle changes to reduce risk of infection. Gabriel found that the flu infects millions each year in the US and Puerto Rico, resulting in hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths. Public awareness of prevention strategies is important to reducing the societal impact of this contagious illness.

1. Raising Viral Influenza
Awareness
My Community Service Project
By Gabriel Bonilla

2. The Presentation
• The presentation shown before you is made to inform the viewer
about the flu.
• I am an 8th grade student who chose to do a community service
project about the flu. I created a presentation in order to inform
about the flu and the societal impact that it has on the US
including Puerto Rico.

3. My Findings

4. What is the Flu
• The flu is an extremely contagious respiratory illness caused
by Influenza A or B viruses.
• It is a contagious bacteria that spreads by multiplying on surfaces
and attacking the immune system

5. Different strains of the Flu
• Human influenza A and B viruses cause seasonal epidemics of
disease almost every winter in the United States.
• The emergence of a new and very different Influenza A virus can
cause an influenza pandemic like in 2009.
• Influenza type C infections generally cause a mild respiratory
illness and are not thought to cause epidemics.
• There are hundreds of influenza sub types based on proteins found
on the surface of the virus

6. Flu Symptoms
• Fatigue
• Body aches and chills
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Fever
• Gastrointestinal problems

7. How does the Flu spread
• Spread can occur by direct bodily contact (such as kissing) or touching
something with virus on it (such as shaking hands with someone who has
the flu) and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.
• Respiratory droplets are generated by a person coughing or sneezing and
can be propelled right into your eyes, nose or mouth over short
distances, probably three to six feet.
• Adults with flu may be able to infect others beginning one day before
getting symptoms and up to one week after getting sick. Children can be
infectious even longer, sometimes up to several weeks.
• That means that you can give someone the flu before you know you're
sick as well as after you are feeling better.

8. Infection rates and hospitalization
• The CDC reports that for the first week of 2018, widespread
influenza activity was reported in 30 states and Puerto Rico, while
another 19 states reported regional and local flu incidents.
• Approximately 6-7 million people have contracted one of the
Influenza viruses.
• 69,300 to 83,500 people are hospitalized yearly because of flu.
• The flu is responsible for 11,600 - 19,100 deaths per year

9. Flu prevalence
• Flu infects 5 to 10 percent of the US population a year
• Flu results in 31.4 million medical visits a year

10. Economic impact of the flu
• 10.4 billion dollars per year go to buying treatment for the flu
• 15.3 billion dollars per year are lost in earnings due to the flu
• 17 million workdays a year are missed by flu which is equivalent to
a loss of 7 billion dollars

11. Flu Prevention
• Vaccination
• Avoid touching your eyes nose and mouth
• Wash your hands often
• Limit contact with family members who are ill
• Clean your home

12. Vaccination

13. Vaccination
• CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most
important step in protecting against influenza and its potentially
serious complications.
• While there are many different flu viruses, flu vaccines protect
against the 3 or 4 viruses that research suggests will be most
common in the next season. Three-component vaccines contain an
H3N2, an H1N1 and a B virus. Four component vaccines have an
additional B virus component.

14. Flu vaccine effectiveness
• Recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu
illness by 40% to 60% among the overall population during seasons
when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu
vaccine.

15. Vaccination effectiveness
• In the 2017-2018 flu season there was a 40% vaccine effectiveness rate
• In the 2016-2017 flu season 5.3 billion flu cases were prevented
• In the 2016-2017 flu season 2. 6 billion medical visits were prevented
• In the 2016-2017 flu season 85,000 hospitalizations were prevented

16. Vaccination- 2019 Flu season
• Flu vaccines have been updated to better match circulating
viruses.
• For the 2018-2019 season, the nasal spray flu vaccine (live
attenuated influenza vaccine or “LAIV”) is again a recommended
option for Influenza vaccination of persons for whom it is
otherwise appropriate. The nasal spray is approved for use in non-
pregnant individuals, 2 to 49 years old. There is a precaution
against the use of LAIV for people with certain underlying medical
conditions. All LAIV will be quadrivalent (four-component).

17. Reasons to get the flu shot
• There is data to suggest that even if someone gets sick after
vaccination, their illness may be milder.
• Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine every
year before flu activity begins in their community. CDC
recommends getting vaccinated by the end of October.

18. “Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Influenza-Associated
Intensive Care Admissions and Attenuating Severe Disease among Adults
in New Zealand 2012-2015”
Influenza virus infection was confirmed in 28% of GW hospital and 41% of ICU
patients; influenza vaccination was documented for 56% and 41%,
respectively. Across seasons, IVE was 37% (95% confidence intervals [CI] = 23–
48%) among GW patients and 82% (95% CI = 45–94%) among ICU patients. IVE
point estimates were > 70% against ICU influenza and consistently higher
than IVE against GW influenza when stratified by season, by virus
(sub)types, and for adults with or without chronic medical conditions and
for both adults aged <65 and ≥65 years old. Among hospitalized influenza
positives, influenza vaccination was associated with a 59% reduction in the
odds of ICU admission (aOR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.18–0.96) and with shorter ICU
lengths of stay (LOS), but not with radiograph-confirmed Pneumonia or GW
hospital LOS

19. How is the flu vaccine made
• The flu vaccine is made by the prosses of 4 researchers approved
by the World Health Organization (WHO) choosing 4 flu virus
strains and growing those strains in chicken eggs which will then
be used in the quadrivalent vaccine.

20. Flu Vaccine News
• Most regular-dose egg-based flu shots will be quadrivalent.
• All recombinant vaccine will be for four flu viruses (quadrivalent).
• Cell-grown flu vaccine will be quadrivalent. For this vaccine, the
influenza A(H3N2) and both Influenza B reference viruses will be
cell-derived, and the Influenza A(H1N1) will be egg-derived. All
these reference viruses will be grown in cells to produce the
components of Flucelvax.

21. Recommendations for the Flu vaccine
• The age recommendation for Fluarix Quadrivalent (a vaccine for the flu)
was changed from 3 years and older to 6 months and older after the
annual recommendations were published last season to be consistent
with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved labeling.
• The age recommendation for Afluria Quadrivalent (another vaccine) was
changed from 18 years and older to 5 years and older after the annual
recommendations were published last season to be consistent with Food
and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved labeling.

22. Why people do not vaccinate?
CDC researchers say parents who don't vaccinate their children
against the flu seem to fall mostly into two camps. There are those
who say the vaccine was not promoted or recommended by their
child's physician. And there are those who simply believe that their
child isn’t susceptible to the flu because their kid is otherwise
healthy and does not have a high-risk condition.
Awareness is key!!!

23. Lifestyle Modifications
for Flu Prevention

24. Lifestyle Modifications
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep
from infecting them.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay
home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get
medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone
for 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)

25. Lifestyle Modifications
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or
sneeze. After using a tissue, throw it in the trash and wash your
hands.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are
not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.

26. Washing your hands
• Most people don’t wash their hands properly
• Wet your hands with running water — either warm or cold.
• Apply liquid, bar or powder soap to a cupped hand.
• Lather well.
• Rub your hands, palm to palm, vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember
to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your
fingers and under your fingernails.
• Rinse well.
• Dry your hands with a clean towel.
• Use the towel to turn off the faucet.

27. Studies on washing hands
A cross-sectional study was carried out at All Saints University School of
Medicine, Dominica. A total of 170 students from PM 1-MD5 were told to
fill a questionnaire consisting of their age, gender, class, washing of hands
with soap and water before eating food, washing with soap and water
after urinating, washing with soap and water after defecating, washing
hands after using the cadaver room, washing hands after using labs, reason
for the disinfection of the body, number of illnesses in the past one year.
Analysis of the result showed that medical students studied were cautious
on the average towards hand hygiene and on a general note have come to
embrace the importance of hand hygiene stressing on the numerous
adverse effects its lack of practice have come to prove over the years.

28. Studies findings
A relationship between hand hygiene, illness rate, and reasons for
not practicing hand hygiene is shown in the results. The current
study suggests that both hand washing and the use of hand
sanitizers have positive effect on the wellness of medical students.
The outcomes of improved hand hygiene habits for the student
result in reduced health care costs for the university since fewer
students may need to utilize health center resources.

29. Remedies for the Flu

30. Remedies for the flu
• Replenishing fluids by drinking water and eating soup.
• Rest as needed.
• Avoid returning to school or work until at least 24 hours without
fever and no antipyretic treatment have occurred.

31. Remedies- Over the counter medicine
• Pain relievers can lessen headache symptoms, back and muscle pain that
often accompanies the flu. In addition to the fever reducers
acetaminophen and ibuprofen, other effective pain relievers are
naproxen (Aleve) and aspirin (Bayer)
• Cough suppressants reduce the cough reflex. They’re useful in
controlling dry coughs without mucus. An example of this type of drug is
dextromethorphan (Robitussin).

32. Medications FDA

33. Tamiflu©
• Tamiflu is used to treat symptoms caused by the flu
virus (influenza). It helps make the symptoms (such as stuffy nose,
cough, sore throat, fever/chills, aches, tiredness) less severe and
shortens the recovery time by 1-2 days
• This medication may also be used to prevent the flu if you have
been exposed to someone who already has the flu (such as a sick
household member) or if there is a flu outbreak in the community.

34. Relenza©
• RELENZA® (zanamivir) inhalation powder is indicated for
treatment of uncomplicated acute illness due to Influenza A and B
virus in adults and pediatric patients aged 7 years and older who
have been symptomatic for no more than 2 days.
• RELENZA is not recommended for treatment or prophylaxis of
influenza in individuals with underlying airways disease

35. Rapivab
• Rapivab works by preventing an enzyme in the body from releasing
virus from infected cells.
• Rapivab is used to treat Influenza in adults and children who are
at least 2 years old, who have had flu symptoms for up to 2 days.

36. Xofluza
• On October 24, 2018 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Approved
a new flu drug. XOFLUZA is the first new drug approved to treat Influenza in
20 years.
• XOFLUZA is a newly approved antiviral medication your doctor can prescribe
to treat influenza (the flu). Drugs like XOFLUZA can help make your flu
symptoms less intense if you take them within the first 48 hours you are
sick.
• In clinical trials, people with the flu who took XOFLUZA within the first 24
hours of being ill felt better sooner than people who took a placebo (a pill
with no medication) or took an antiviral later (24-48 hours or more after
symptoms started).

37. Who can take flu medicine
Flu antiviral drugs should be started as soon as possible to treat
hospitalized flu patients, people who are very sick with flu but
who do not need to be hospitalized, and people who are at high
risk of serious flu complications based on their age or health if
they develop flu symptoms.

38. In Conclusion
The Flu virus is a very dangerous and rapidly mutating virus that in
some cases can be deadly.
There are many ways to prevent it such as washing your hand taking
the flu shot and avoiding contact with sick people.
If you do get sick there are various medications that your doctor
can prescribe.
Public awareness is an essential key to control, prevent and even
eradicate this costly and dangerous disease.

39. Reflection
• There is much disinformation.
• Public awareness is key for disease prevention.
• I would like to further divulge this information to schools
personally by offering a conference. I would also like to
participate in a public health fair.
• We need stronger public health campaign to raise awareness in
Puerto Rico.

40. Bibliography
• "The Right Way To Wash Your Hands." Mayo Clinic. N.p., 2019.
Web. 4 May 2019.
• "What You Should Know For The 2018-2019 Influenza
Season." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. N.p., 2019.
Web. 4 May 2019.
• "XOFLUZA: An FDA-Approved Flu Drug." Verywell Health. N.p.,
2019. Web. 4 May 2019.

41. Bibliography
• "Facts And Statistics About The Flu." Healthline. N.p., 2019. Web.
4 May 2019.
• "Relenza (Zanamivir): Side Effects, Interactions, Warning, Dosage
& Uses." RxList. N.p., 2019. Web. 4 May 2019.
• "Key Facts About Influenza (Flu) | CDC." Cdc.gov. N.p., 2019. Web.
4 May 2019.

42. The End