What are the symptoms of Influenza A (Influenza Type A)?

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From the Guidelines

Influenza A symptoms typically include sudden onset of high fever, chills, cough, headache, sore throat, fatigue, nasal stuffiness, and conjunctivitis.

Common Symptoms

  • High fever
  • Chills
  • Cough
  • Headache
  • Sore throat
  • Fatigue
  • Nasal stuffiness
  • Conjunctivitis These symptoms are commonly reported in both adults and children, as seen in studies 1.

Additional Symptoms in Children

  • Otitis media
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Febrile seizures (in 6%–20% of children hospitalized with influenza virus infection) 1 A clinical prediction model from North America for influenza in children has shown that the triad of cough, headache, and pharyngitis had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 78% for a positive viral culture for influenza 1.

Duration of Symptoms

  • Fever tends to settle 2–4 days later
  • Dry cough and clear nasal discharge can last for 1–2 weeks 1
  • Uncomplicated influenza illness typically resolves after 3–7 days for the majority of persons, although cough and malaise can persist for >2 weeks 1

From the Research

Symptoms of Influenza A

The symptoms of Influenza A (Influenza Type A) include:

  • Abrupt onset of fever, cough, chills or sweats, myalgias, and malaise 2
  • Fever, chills, aches, pains, headaches, fatigue, cough and generalized weakness that can last up to 14 days 3
  • Fever > 38 degrees C, cough and dyspnoea are the major symptoms on presentation 4
  • High fever, body aches, and fatigue 5
  • Pharyngitis, dyspnea were frequent symptoms in influenza A 6

Common Symptoms

Common symptoms of Influenza A include:

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Chills or sweats
  • Myalgias
  • Malaise
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Dyspnea

Gastrointestinal Symptoms

Gastrointestinal symptoms such as:

  • Watery diarrhoea
  • Vomiting
  • Abdominal pain are common early in the course of the disease, particularly in human H5N1 infection 4

Laboratory Features

Laboratory features of human H5N1 infection include:

  • Leucopoenia, especially lymphopenia
  • Elevated amino-transaminases
  • Thrombocytopenia
  • Prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time
  • Increased D-Dimer
  • Increased serum lactate dehydrogenase and creatinine phospho-kinase
  • Hypoalbuminemia 4

References

Guideline

Guideline Directed Topic Overview

Dr.Oracle Medical Advisory Board & Editors, 2025

Research

Influenza: Diagnosis and Treatment.

American family physician, 2019

Research

Influenza: incidence, symptoms and treatment.

British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), 2005

Professional Medical Disclaimer

This information is intended for healthcare professionals. Any medical decision-making should rely on clinical judgment and independently verified information. The content provided herein does not replace professional discretion and should be considered supplementary to established clinical guidelines. Healthcare providers should verify all information against primary literature and current practice standards before application in patient care. Dr.Oracle assumes no liability for clinical decisions based on this content.

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