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Flu (influenza, conventional, and H1N1) facts

• Influenza, commonly called "the flu," is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract.
• Influenza viruses are divided into three types, designated A, B, and C, with A types usually causing the most problems in humans.
• Most people who get the conventional or seasonal flu recover completely in one to two weeks, but some people develop serious and potentially life-threatening medical complications, such as pneumonia.
• Much of the illness and death caused by conventional or seasonal influenza can be prevented by annual influenza vaccination.
• Influenza A undergoes frequent antigenic changes that require new vaccines to be developed and people to obtain a new vaccination every year. New vaccine technology is being developed.
• In April 2009, a new flu virus termed novel H1N1 swine flu developed in Mexico, rapidly spread worldwide, and caused the WHO to de...

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