Influenza A/B screening - rapid test

General information:

What should we know about the flu?

Influenza is a common name for four types of Influenza virus - type A, B, C and D. Types A and B are the main causes of seasonal flu and the measures to deal with them are mainly against them. Influenza is an acute infectious disease and the most common symptoms are: high fever, dry cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, runny nose and sore throat. In most patients, the flu passes without severe symptoms and within a week the patients are cured without the need for medical assistance. In risk groups, however, the flu can be severe and have fatal consequences. For Bulgaria, the seasonal flu circulates in the period from October to March.

Which are the risk groups in which the flu is severe?

The main risk groups in which the flu is more severe and has more complications are:

• Pregnant women regardless of trimester
• Small children under 5 years old
• Elderly people over 65 years of age
• Patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, lung diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• People with impaired immunity - HIV, AIDS, patients on chemotherapy, immunosuppressants
• Medical staff who are exposed to flu patients

How to tell the flu from a cold?

Influenza and the common cold are different diseases, although they occur in a similar way. Both are respiratory infections ie. respiratory tract infections caused by viruses. Most respiratory infections, including the flu, are transmitted by airborne droplets from an infected person who coughs and releases droplets that carry the virus. If a "common" cold is misdiagnosed as the flu, that's not a problem. Rarely, and only in the worst case, it can lead to secondary bacterial infections of the ears or sinuses, which are treated with an antibiotic. However, if the flu is misdiagnosed as a common cold and more serious measures are not taken, there is a potential risk of developing severe, even life-threatening complications (e.g. pneumonia). Proving the causative agent of the flu - Influenza A or B - is the only way to distinguish them from the "common" cold. The rapid flu test has a very high diagnostic value and within 30 minutes gives an answer to the question of whether it is flu or not. The result dramatically shortens the time to diagnose influenza, can prevent very serious consequences for at-risk patients and save an expensive treatment. In many countries, including our country, statistics show that up to 70% of the temporary incapacity of the working-age population in the period October - March is due to the flu. The funds that are spent on their treatment are generally greater than those on the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Influenza is not only widespread, but also costly to society, so timely prevention is of great importance. Correctly diagnosed, the flu is treated much more successfully, and the treatment itself is much cheaper.

Get yourself diagnosed on time at Laborexpress - Varna!