Influenza A H1N1 Virus

1808 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Influenza A H1N1 Virus

Introduction

In 1918-19 approximately 50 million deaths were a detriment of the Spanish H1N1 virus pandemic; a respiratory virus. According to the World Health Organization, the second Influenza A H1N1 pandemic in 2009 spread to more than 200 countries causing more than 18 000 deaths. Before the World Health Organization had announced the official end of the pandemic in August 2010, in July 2009 the World Health Organization sent out a phase 6 warning that H1N1 could soon be a global pandemic. It is important to recognize that the 2 different outbreaks had different A/H1N1strains effecting the world population; this suggests A/H1N1has a high ability for mutation, severely complicating the human body’s natural immune mechanism of antigenic drift. (Qi-Shi Du et al., 2010)

Epidemiology

According to the Swine flu investigation team on April 15 and April 17, 2009, novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV) was isolated from two epidemiologically unlinked patients in the United States. The same strain was identified in other countries such as Mexico and Canada. In the United States 60% of patients were 18 years of age or younger suggesting that the younger population was more susceptible to the transmission of S-OIV or the possibility that the older population had developed a small amount of antibodies from the 1976 swine influenza vaccine (H1N1). 18% of the patients had recently traveled to Mexico, and 16% were identified from school outbreaks. (France, Jackson & Schrag, 2010) The most common presenting symptoms were fever (94% of patients), cough (92%), and sore throat (66%); 25% of patients had diarrhea, and 25% were experiencing emesis. Therefore, the criteria characterizing the S-OIV infection are comparable to the ...

... middle of paper ...

... S.M., My Yang, Halvorson, D.A & Sreevatsan, S. (2009) The Feasibility of Using High

Resolution Genome Sequencing of Influenza A Viruses to Detect Mixed Infections and

Quasispecies. PLoS One 4(9), 7105.

Thorlund K, Awad T, Boivin G, Thabane L. Systematic review of influenza resistance to the

neuraminidase inhibitors. BMC Infect Dis 2011;11:134.

Vries, E.V.D., Schutten, M & Boucher, C.A.B. (2010) The potential for multidrug-resistant

influenza. New England Journal of Medicine 24, 599–604.

Writing Committee of the WHO Consultation on Clinical Aspects of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza. (2009) Medical Progress Clinical Aspects of Pandemic 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection

Gambaryan A. S & Matrosovich M. N.(1992) A solid- phase enzyme-linked assay for influenza

virus receptor binding activity. Journal of Virology 39, 111–123.

Show More
Related

  • Drug and Medication: Lexapro

    1706 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ramachandria, C. T., Subramanyan, N., Bar, K. J., Baker, G., & Yeragani, V. K. (n.d.).

    Read More

  • A Discussion of Disco Di

    1727 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tadić, A., Wagner, S., Hoch, J., Başkaya, Ö., von Cube, R., Skaletz, C., ... & Dahmen, N. (2009).

    Read More

  • Influenza Virus' Economic and Social Disruption to Society

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    However due to globalization, import and export viruses is more easily transmitted. Over the past century the global community especially Asian has been affected with new strains of the influenza virus. The changes in the virus can occur in two ways “antigenic drift” which are gradual changes in the virus over time. This change produces new strains that the antibody may not recognize. “Antigenic shift” On the other is a sudden change in the influenza virus which ‘’ results in a new influenza A subtype or a virus with a hemagglutinin or a hemagglutinin and neuraminidase combination that has emerged from an animal population,” as seen with H5N1 virus. This change leaves people defenseless against this new virus. (CDC, 2013) Currently there is no vaccine to combat all strains therefore “Planning and preparedness for implementing mitigation strategies during a pandemic requires participation by all levels o...

    Read More

  • Spanish Flu Pandemic In 1918

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    The influenza or flu pandemic of 1918 to 1919, the deadliest in modern history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide–about one-third of the planet’s population at the time–and estimates place the number of victims anywhere from 25 to 100 million. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population became sick, and some 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic. The 1918 flu was first observed in Europe, the U.S. and parts of Asia before swiftly spreading around the world. Surprisingly, many flu victims were young, otherwise healthy adults. At the time, there were no effective drugs or vaccines to treat this killer flu strain or prevent its spread. In the U.S., citizens were ordered to wear masks, and schools, theaters and other public

    Read More

  • The Flu Shot Should Not Be Mandatory

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Current influenza vaccines are about 70% to 90% effective in preventing influenza in healthy adults. Since the vaccines are made of dead fragments of influenza viruses, they cannot cause influenza. The strains of influenza that circulate change every year and therefore, it is necessary to make a new influenza vaccine annually. After vaccination, the body's immune system produces antib... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • The 1918 Flu Pandemic

    1940 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the most virulent strains of influenza in history ravaged the world and decimated the populations around the world. Present during World War I, the 1918 strain of pandemic influenza found many opportunities to spread through the war. At the time, science wasn’t advanced enough to study the virus, much less find a cure; medical personnel were helpless when it came to fighting the disease, and so the flu went on to infect millions and kill at a rate 25 times higher than the standard.

    Read More

  • Influenza Vaccination Essay

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    Influenza is a major public health problem which outbreaks all over the world. Resulting in considerable sickness and death rates. Furthermore, it is a highly infectious airborne disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is transmitted easily from one person to another person which has a great impact on society. When a member of society becomes sick, it is more prone to spread to other people. In the United States, every year between 5 to 20 percent of the population is affected by influenza. As a result of this, between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths have occurred per year (Biggerstaff et al., 2014). Therefore, the influenza vaccine is the most effective strategy to prevent influenza. This essay will examine two significant reasons for influenza vaccination which are the loss of workforce and economic burden as well as one effect regarding herd immunity.

    Read More

  • Influenza Vaccination Should be Mandatory

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like influenza are very contagious, they can spread easily from hcw to Patient and back to hcw. The most efficient and effective method of preventing influenza infection is vaccination(The best way to prevent influenza is with annual vaccination).(Sullivan,2010) (Gregory,Tosh &Jacobson, 2005). Motivated by a desire to actively avoid illness Influenza may increase the risk for death in people with existing heart, lung, or circulation disorders. In fact, the higher than average number of winter deaths in people with heart disease may be due only to the occurrence of influenza during those months.Vaccination provides immunity to fight against infection.To increase resistance to harm by modifying the environment to minimize preventable illness (NEED TO CHANGE WORDING)

    Read More

  • The Importance of the Influenza Vaccine

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    At no time was a search for the cure for influenza more frantic than after the devastating effects of the pandemic of 1918. The pandemic killed somewhere between twenty and a hundred million people, making it twenty five times more deadly than the ordinary cough and sneeze flu. The symptoms of this flu were like something straight out of a horror movie: the victim’s facial complexion changed to a dark, brownish purple, the feet turned black, and they began to cough up blood. Eventually, death was caused, literally by drowning, when the victim’s lungs filled with their own blood. The first scientist to claim to solve the enigma of influenza was Dr. Friedrich Johann Pfeiffer. He isolated a bacterium he named Hemophilus influenzae from the respiratory tract of those who had the flu in the pandemic of 1890. He was believed to be correct in his discovery until the pandemic of 1918, when scientists searched the respiratory tracts of influenza victims and only sometimes found his bacterium. Robert E. Shope and his mentor Paul Lewis were the next to attempt to crack the code of influenza. They chose to study the disease in pigs, a controversial choice because many people believed that the swine influenza pigs were contracting was not the same as the human flu. The first experiment they ran was ba...

    Read More

  • The Origins of the Spanish Flu of 1918

    1906 Words  | 4 Pages

    A few years before 1918, in the height of the First World War, a calamity occurred that stripped the globe of at least 50 million lives. (Taubenberger, 1918) This calamity was not the death toll of the war; albeit, some individuals may argue the globalization associated with the First World War perpetuated the persistence of this calamity. This calamity was referred to the Spanish Flu of 1918, but calling this devastating pestilence the “Spanish Flu” may be a historical inaccuracy, as research and historians suggest that the likelihood of this disease originating in Spain seams greatly improbable. Despite it’s misnomer, the Spanish Flu, or its virus name H1N1, still swept across the globe passing from human to human by exhaled drops of water that contained a deadly strand of RNA wrapped with a protein casing. Individuals who were unfortunate enough to come in contact with the contents of the protein casing generally developed severe respiratory inflammation, as the Immune system’s own response towards the infected lung cells would destroy much of the lungs, thus causing the lungs to flood with fluids. Due to this flooding, pneumonia was a common cause of death for those infected with Spanish Flu. Due its genetic similarity with Avian Flu, the Spanish Flu is thought to be descended from Avian Flu which is commonly known as “Bird Flu.” (Billings,1997) The Spanish Flu of 1918 has had a larger impact in terms of global significance than any other disease has had because it was the most deadly, easily transmitted across the entire globe, and occurred in an ideal time period for a disease to happen.

    Read More

  • Atheist in America

    2567 Words  | 6 Pages

    1. Caldwell-Harris, C. L., Wilson, A. L., LoTempio, E., & Beit-Hallahmi, B. (2011). Exploring the

    Read More

  • Human Populations at High Risk

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    The human population has a high susceptibility to the contraction of new diseases and outbreaks of these diseases are of high risk. Diseases in recent times that have broken out into the human population are the H7N9 flu strain and SARS. Despite the risk, outbreaks like H7N9 and SARS have been controlled due to epidemiology and other disease control methods. Outbreaks of disease are not uncommon to the human population as they move to new areas around the world with foreign diseases that the native residents would have developed a resistance to.

    Read More

  • To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate?

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    Currently, one cannot explore the news without coming across the topic of the swine flu, scientifically known as H1N1. Swine flu is a respiratory infection derived from the influenza virus. The virus contains genetic materials from human, swine, and avian flu viruses. It was first identified in spring 2009, and since then has spread rapidly across the globe. The infection’s spread has been verified as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. As soon as the swine flu virus was isolated, scientists quickly developed a swine flu vaccine. Four vaccines have been approved by the FDA for the prevention of the swine flu. The vaccines will be ready for distribution in October 2009. Now the question is: To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate? Millions of people are now preparing to answer this question.

    Read More

  • Influenza Vaccination

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some of the class content we have gone over is very dry and not that useful but majority of it is really important. First evidence of class content is “… onset fever, cough, and vomiting” ( CDC, 2009, p. 2606). This here would be considered a case definition where they pick certain symptoms for one individual to count in that record. Also in this section in the article it had mentioned that with the first case with the little boy eventually got better over time and in our community health science class we call that self-limiting. Further on in the journal it continues to describe the percentage of patients into a ratio. “ The age of hospitalized patients ranged from 19 months to 51 years… 4 were children under the age of 5 years old, and 1 patient was pregnant, nine had chronic medical conditions.” ( CDC 2009, p. 2608). This relates closely with the Washington Post regarding vaccines and how certain individuals are at higher risk than others. If we could get the herd immunity up our odds would be better. Where we want majority protected. More evidence of class content is betrayed in these next two quotes. First one is referring to a diagram of the United States and how many cases per state. “ As of May 5, 2009 there was 642 confirmed cases of human infection with swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus in the United States” (CDC, 2009, p. 2609). The only states or districts that had no cases were Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Arkansas, Missouri, Vermont, West Virginia, and District Columbia. This relates to the Triangle with the host, pathogen, environment, and reservoir. The environment could easily have been a factor in why those ten states did not have any cases. Now the quote that has everything and in-between class content. “ On April 25, the WHO declared a public health

    Read More

  • Effective Communication and Police Officers

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    Barker, V., Giles, H., Hajek, C., Ota, H., Noels, K., Lim, T-S., & Somera, L. (2008).

    Read More

More about Influenza A H1N1 Virus

Open Document