My wife is bringing my son home of the the ER right now.  He has been sick since yesterday afternoon.  He's completely miserable but is still taking in fluids.  Anyway the doctors at the ER said that he has Influenza A and gave him a prescription.  He is to take it 2 times a day for 5 days and should get over in within 10 days.  First off thats a long time to be miserable, I hope things get progressively better.  Also, I have 2 other kids should I expect them to get sick to?  I'm trying to find out more about Influenza A but find nothing but stuff about the bird flu.  I'm assuming that if my son had the bird flu everyone would be freaking out right?  Does influenza A come in different forms?

Influenza A has subtypes determined by the surface antigens hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N)
which is why they are called H1N1, H3N2 etc.

Quoted: My wife is bringing my son home of the the ER right now.  He has been sick since yesterday afternoon.  He's completely miserable but is still taking in fluids.  Anyway the doctors at the ER said that he has Influenza A and gave him a prescription.  He is to take it 2 times a day for 5 days and should get over in within 10 days.  First off thats a long time to be miserable, I hope things get progressively better.  Also, I have 2 other kids should I expect them to get sick to?  I'm trying to find out more about Influenza A but find nothing but stuff about the bird flu.  I'm assuming that if my son had the bird flu everyone would be freaking out right?  Does influenza A come in different forms?

Very infectious. Any or all of you may get it.

It takes a while to run its course, esp if there has been a delay in treatment.  Treatment with antivirals is not necessary as most of us have had influenza many times and recovered without any treatment.  It is a bitch though.

Watch for secondary bacterial infections.
Good hygeinic precautions in the home
Keep isolated from other kids if able
Surfaces such as countertops, etc should be assumed contaminated.
Try not to rub your eyes unless you wash your hands first.

Influenza A comes in different forms or strains.
If your child had the bird flu they probably wouldn't know it at this point but that is highly unlikely as there would have to be others in the US with it and none have been found to my knowledge.

Usually the first 3-4 days are the worst, then gradual improvement. If after improving he relapses much he could be developing a bacterial pneumonia.

Incubation period is about 1-3days.

Over the counter meds migh provide some relief but in all honesty I have never been impressed they much for influenza.