Team Number: 091

School Name: Bloomfield High School

Area of Science: Public Health

Project Title: Getting a Clue about the Flu

Problem Definition:

Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a virus that affects the respiratory system.  The flu differs from the common cold in the fact that it is a viral respiratory infection that causes serious illness.  Complications may even lead to death.  It is most contagious through October to May.  The peak of the flu season may occur anywhere from late December to March.  The flu season varies each year.  Influenza has an incubation period of one to four days.  Most people who come into contact with the virus don’t show symptoms for at least a couple of days, yet they are still able to pass the illness on to others.  Symptoms include fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and muscle aches.  People 65 and older and children six to twenty-four months are the most susceptible to the flu.  It also affects these age groups the most.  Our group intends to use data provided by the CDC to predict the number of cases in New Mexico concerning both the older and younger age groups.      

The goal of this project is to create a program that is capable of predicting the number of vaccinations needed to meet the demand in each season. 

Problem Solution: We will try to predict the percentage of people that contract the flu in the age groups of 65 and older plus infants that are six to twenty-four months. This program will be able to track the spread of the virus within the limits that we have setup. 

Progress to Date:

Our group has been meeting weekly to refine the goal of our project.  Our abstract has transformed into our present task.  Already we have researched general information concerning influenza.  This led to a few more changes in our project. 

Expected Results: this will be expected to be able to determine the amount of vaccines we need and at around what time we need them since the influenza vaccines don’t last very long so they become inactive and they may have to produce more during the flu season. 

Team Members: Roberto Diaz, Victor Diaz, Jessica Gathings, Annie Hohmann

Sponsoring Teachers: Mrs. Crockett, Mr. Lopez