Influenza has been known since time of Hippocrates in Greece as an
epidemic respiratory illness
that strikes in wintertime. In 2000 years,
only one flu epidemic had a high mortality rate: 1918. It mainly effected people in their prime, rather than the more typical flu which mainly affects infants & elders populations.
Pathophysiology: Two types of flu: A: humans, pigs, chickens B: humans Type A is particularly problematic - living and
mutating in many life forms.
New strains make it difficult to develop permanent immunity. New strains spread very quickly around the world as
no one has immunity to them.
Pandemic does NOT refer to deadliness of flu but rather: the high numbers who fall ill, plus the strain on medical resources.
Viruses are unable to reproduce on their own. They require specific cells to live inside of. E.g. Hepatitis lives in liver cells or hepatocytes; West Nile viruses live in central nervous system; influenza viruses live in epithelial cells of the throat, trachea, bronchi in respiratory tract.
In a normal influenza course, there is an 18- to 72-hour incubation period. Virus is usually cleared from body by day #7. Depending on type of virus,
our immune system generates very specific pro-inflammatory
cytokine surges - over and above normal cytokine levels - in initial 6 days. (Typical for a
mild case of flu: two cytokines - peak day #2 - 17x normal and again day #5 - 14x normal; another cytokine will peak day #4 then drops rapidly; another peaks day #4 (59x normal) lingering into day #6. (Complications: Fever can lead to possible dehydration. Disease can progress to possible viral pneumonia or bacterial pneumonia; death can occur - if there is predisposing weakness.)
Excess cytokine response may occur: in pneumonia; with multi-organ infection; or
with a deficient level of Vitamin D
In a
large retrospective study of 1918 flu that killed millions around the world: the ONLY 3 things that seemed to help people to survive were: going early to bed, staying in bed for a FULL week, and good nursing or self care. The tricky thing about cytokine production is that many can be free of fever by day #2, many can feel strength return by day #4... However, by not staying in bed until day #7, more complications are likely to occur.
Flu illness comes in waves. There will be a lull and you feel better. However, another cytokine surge is going to come. Flu
has a 7-day cycle with various cytokines getting produced. BEST RX: STAY HOME AND REST.
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Enter Vitamin D: There has been a huge re-look at its role w/influenza. The first article was in 2006: one can
'see' what happened to article and Vitamin D Council here:
https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/heal...ions/influenza (Various 'health professionals' have been quite busy undermining alternatives to vaccines or drugs -- this is part of a very long history in U.S. discrediting all other forms of healing except for Allopathic Medicine.)
Vitamin D was first discovered in 1920, shortly
after the 1918 killer flu epidemic, because of a disease known as rickets. Rickets hardly ever appeared in rural area or in farm families. It became an issue - in the U.S. - around the 1890s, peaking in the 1920s, then Vitamin D discovered. For 80 years, the idea was that D was a vitamin gotten from food and that you need very little of it to prevent
rickets. About 1999, Vitamin D researchers began to think very differently, i.e. rather than a little bit, we need a lot of Vitamin D.
ONLY in summer in northern latitudes around mid-day, a light-skinned person can make 20,000 IUs of D in 20 minutes; a dark-skinned person would take 3 hours to make that amount. So adults - who work year-round indoors, use sunscreens before they go out - would have VASTLY lower stores of Vitamin D..
Researchers also discovered that just about every cell in the body has receptor sites for Vitamin D and D has a great many roles in body other than bone development and prevention of rickets.
If your Vitamin D level is too low, then, your respiratory immunity is too low. Vitamin D helps prevent flu, colds and TB. It also helps fight infections: it activates the respiratory tract immune cells; it also activates that part of the immune system that puts a BRAKE on cytokine storms.
It has long been a mystery: why do people only get influenza in the winter: from Nov - late January and peaking in February/March. Winter coincides exactly with when people’s Vitamin D stores are the lowest. Those who live in highest northern/southern latitudes have shortest window in summer to build stores. Those who live between 0 - 30 degrees N or South of equator can make D year-round.
VITAMIN D/SUN RULE OF THUMB: IF YOUR SHADOW IS SHORTER THAN YOU, YOU CAN MAKE VITAMIN D If your shadow is longer than you, you cannot make D - no matter how long you’re in sunshine. Vitamin D levels - in everyone - are lowest in March. The lower your peak level is, it is very possible to dip into the
deficient range during winter.
How much Vitamin D a person needs is still being sorted out. However, 50 nanograms/mL cut breast cancer risk in half. Also at 50 ng/mL (or less), mothers stopped passing along Vitamin D in their breast milk. So this makes 50 ng/mL seem a threshold amount. Colon cancer risks increase when levels fall below 38-40 ng/mL. With levels below 32, bone metabolism is disrupted. Below 15-18, you get higher amounts of respiratory infections. Below 15, some babies get rickets and adults get osteomalacia (i.e. adult rickets) with signs of: bne ace, muscle ache, muscle weakness. MANY people who live in cloudy areas walk around with osteomalacia. Often they are diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromyalgia, neurosis, et cetera, yet they may have Vitamin D deficiency. This is often seen in the Pacific Northwest for example. People with dark skin may also experience this. Besides sun exposure, people can supplement with oral Vitamin D
3.
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Learning from 1918 Influenza Epidemic Current Public Health officials are concerned about a repeat. E.g. in New York City, 50% of people in their prime died from this flu. Mortality rates were lower in countryside (likely because they had higher vitamin D levels). There were also fewer deaths for those in military camps as soldiers’ basic training was often done outdoors in the sun (so also higher D levels).
In ANY infectious disease, there are TWO main things at play: strength of the pathogenic organism AND person’s ability to resist same.
