The Deadliest Viruses Still In Existence

Few viruses are great for you, but some that caused problems in the past were extremely dangerous. Worse yet, a few of them, like the ones here, are still around.

Discussing influenza is extremely complicated, but let's talk about the deadliest one, and according to the CDC, that's the influenza A virus. There are actually four different categories: A, B, C, and D. Out of the four, A is the only one that's ever caused massive pandemics, and it's also the one that can undergo a fast, drastic change called an "antigenic shift." When that happens, it can spread from an animal population to humans, and it's not long after that you'll start to see headlines about things like avian flu.

Influenza's chameleon-like ability to shift and change makes it incredibly dangerous. Take the 2009 outbreak of H1N1, sometimes called swine flu. The CDC estimates that during the first year of the outbreak, around half a million people died from it. And while typically, the most susceptible demographics include the very young, the very old, and the immune-compromised, this particular flu targeted people younger than 65. And it's still out there. Between 2009 and 2018, around 75,000 people died from it.

That's an entirely different thing from seasonal flu, which goes around every year, usually between December and February. That we're prepared for, because most people have been exposed to the virus before or have had some kind of immunization. It's when the virus changes that terrible things happen. Everyone's immune system is starting from scratch at that point, and well…building up a whole new line of defense takes time.

According to the World Health Organization, Ebola is pretty rare. When the virus does make the jump to human populations, usually coming from close contact with certain kinds of animals, it can have a fatality rate of anywhere from 25 to 90 percent, depending on the outbreak.

Sadly, one of the groups at the highest risk for being infected are healthcare workers who are treating patients, as the virus can spread through blood or other bodily fluids. Ultimately, though, the CDC says researchers still aren't sure where the virus originates, but they do know that there are at least six different versions of it that cause illness in various animals. Four of those can infect and kill people.

Symptoms can take as long as 21 days to appear, though a person isn't contagious until they're symptomatic. And those symptoms can include things like fatigue, muscle pain, headache, fever, and sore throat. Those then escalate quickly into vomiting, diarrhea, and impaired kidney and liver function, often with internal and external bleeding. It's safe to say Ebola is truly a nightmare.

Watch the full video to hear more about the deadliest viruses still in existence.

#Coronavirus #Pandemic

Influenza A is the flu on steroids | 0:12
Ebola is rare but deadly | 1:28
Rabies is potentially fatal | 2:29
Dengue could ruin your vacation | 3:49
HIV/AIDS has claimed millions of lives | 4:56
Smallpox does still exist | 6:08
Coronavirus is nothing new | 7:20
Measles is still deadly | 8:31
Yellow fever is appropriately named | 10:00

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