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‘It's just a virus’ – viral illness in older people: prevention and management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2013

Ruth Payne ,
Donall Forde ,
Alicia Vedio ,
Alison Cope ,
Gary Pratt  and
Anne Tunbridge
Ruth Payne
Affiliation:
The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Donall Forde
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK
Alicia Vedio
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK
Alison Cope
Affiliation:
Department of Virology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK
Gary Pratt
Affiliation:
Department of Stroke and Geriatric Medicine, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK
Anne Tunbridge*
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Anne Tunbridge, Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, The Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 2JF. Email: anne.tunbridge@sth.nhs.uk
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Summary

Many viral infections that cause minor illness in younger adults can lead to significant mortality and morbidity in older people, particularly as co-morbidities tend to accumulate with increased age. Respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses are ubiquitous and frequently cause outbreaks, with major impact on those in care homes or residential accommodation. Advances in medicine have opened the way for increased impact of the herpes viruses (varicella zoster virus, herpes simplex virus, Epstein–Barr virus and cytomegalovirus), as immune systems are manipulated. People are also leading more active lives in older age; human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) will be increasingly prevalent, as those living with HIV grow older in good health. In addition, new diagnoses of HIV, viral hepatitis and travel-related infections will present to those working in health care of older people. This review article of viral infections aims to highlight relevant pathology, with specific reference to management in older people.

Keywords

influenzarespiratory virusviral hepatitisVaricella zoster virusHerpes simplexNorovirusHIV/AIDSEpstein–Barr viruscytomegalovirusolder people
Type
Clinical geriatrics
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , May 2013 , pp. 131 - 141
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

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