With a huge number of victims, 80 to 100 million, since 1918, the influenza is considered as one of the most pandemic diseases ever. There are three types of influenza virus: influenza virus A, influenza virus B, and influenza virus c. These are a subtypes of the virus family orthomyx-oviride. The types B and C do not cause pandemic diseases while type A does. The type A classified into three main subtype H1.N1, H1.N2, and H3.N2. The (H.N) refers to the two kinds of proteins on the surface of the virus (hemagglutinin and neuraminidase). The difference in numbers is due to the difference in protein variability. A H1.N1 virus which is widely known as Spanish flu is the only type that can transmit from human to human. The H5.N1, or “bird flu” does not transfer between humans, but it occurs in a few cases when it evolves. Bird flu seems to be the same as the Spanish flu, but in new arrangement which means some changes must happen to the virus in order to pass between humans. Apparently, we misconceive the mechanism that the virus works so it appeared again. To lessen the damage from these viruses we need to understand the structure and the mechanism of how the virus spread.
The H5.N1 virus has transmitted to humans since 1997. We all know that virus consists of 16 genes which are a small unit made up of RNA (ribonucleic acid) that carry all characters from one generation to another. These viruses are adopted inside the genome of the birds like ducks. These animals are considered the natural host of these viruses which means that the immune system of the birds recognize the virus as a normal body. According to Debora Mackenzie in news scientists, before 2003, the virus started to spread in chicken farms in East Asia. They have discove...
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...rom anything that could be a potential threat. The bird flu for sure is a potential threat. There are many ways to protect our body, for example, a vaccine which is a substance applied to people in order to perk up their immune system. Sometimes it could be a dead cells from the virus – the virus outside the body is not a living organism so it needs to be at its weakest point. In additions, there are some precautions, and procedure, we should follow which work side by side with the medical ways. Dr. Jeffery Greene in his book the bird flu pandemic, points out that the best way to fight such viruses we need to determent its characters and carrier. The influenza virus dies in high temperature (167-212 °F). It is also ruined by chemical substance such as alcohol, detergents, bleach. We also should take care in public places because all germs lurking on surfaces that app
The Influenza virus is a unique respiratory viral disease that can have serious economic and social disruption to society. The virus is airborne transmitted through droplets release by coughing or sneezing from an infected person or by touching infected surfaces. Symptoms range from mild to severe and may even result in death. People with the virus usually experience fever, headache, shivering, muscle pain and cough, which can lead to more severe respiratory illness such as pneumonia. People most susceptible to the flu virus are elderly individuals and young children as well as anyone whose health or immune system has been compromise. The most effective way to counteract the influenza virus is to get the flu vaccine which is available by shots or nasal spray before the flu season as well as practicing safe hygiene. (CDC, 2013)
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.
Emergence of a disease such as bird flu calls for concern for public health officials because, migrating flocks of wild birds which cover vast geographical areas could spread the virus to domestic poultry. Humans who come in contact with domestic birds are at risk of contracting the virus and domestic poultry are major source of protein.
Influenza is defined as an acute, commonly epidemic disease, occurring in several forms, caused by numerous rapidly mutating viral strains and characterized by respiratory symptoms and general prostration. Spanish flu was more than just a normal epidemic, it was a pandemic. Epidemics affect many people at the same time in areas where the disease doesn’t normally occur. A pandemic is an epidemic on a national, international, or global scale. The Spanish flu was different from the seasonal flu in one especially frightening way, there was an unusually high death rate among healthy adults aged 15 to 34 and lowered the life expectancy by more than ten years. Such a high death rate has not occurred in this age group in and epidemic prior to or since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. (Tumpey, 2005)
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.
Swine flu is a disease that has placed a burden on humanity for many years. The virus of swine flu has a very intriguing history as well. Swine flu had originated from the first influenza pandemic in 1918. The actual swine flu virus had come from a pig in Iowa in 1931. Two years later a human strand of swine flu was found in London for the very first time. This was later followed by the Hong Kong flu pandemic in 1968 which had killed up to one million people worldwide. Many years after these pandemics had occurred, the first cases of swine flu were found in California and Texas in March of 2009. This pandemic killed 25,174 people who were infected with swine flu. A couple of months later, the United States and the United Kingdom began testing people for the swine flu and started vaccination programs. Swine flu has had a long history and has taken a large number of lives in the past with worldwide pandemics. As a result, countries like the United States started to take measures toward vaccination. The virus has many different ways of being transmitted, signs and symptoms, areas of the world it infects, and treatment plans.
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.
Influenza viruses are constantly evolving due to the mechanism of antigenic drift. This results in seasonal vaccination to target only specific strains, which puts us in a race against the clock in the prevention of the next pandemic. One key to solving this is the development of a universal influenza vaccine, which would elicit a broad antibody response. This would target either multiple strains or strains from the past, present, and future in a single vaccination. As vaccine may target sites such as the neuraminidase (NA) or the M2 Ion channel, hemagglutinin (HA) is preferred by most approaches due to the consensus amino acids found throughout the different subtype, specifically the stem region (3). However, there are boundaries to the stem approach, such as, that some antibodies have reduced affinity for the stem region (1).
The “Aussie flu”, an Australian influenza virus, has made headlines on media worldwide. It is suggested that the Australian strain has spread to other countries, which has led to criticism of Australia’s Public Health policies. Although, is it possible to identify a strain’s source? If so, how did this “Aussie flu” become so harmful, could it have been prevented? The media is comparing this year’s flu outbreak to the 1968 Hong Kong flu, is it really the next flu pandemic? Influenza viruses are ever evolving and resisting to antibiotic treatment. This is a Global Health issue, particularly making an impact in Australia.
Just like its namesake, Swine Influenza indeed was first discovered as a respiratory illness in pigs caused by influenza A (CDC.gov, 2016). However, variance in one or more genes in the virus, caused the mutation A/New Jersey/76, increasing the zoonotic effects of the virus (CDC.gov, 2016). The potential for humans to become infected now exist briefly perplexing immunologist and epidemiologist in its early stages. Transmission was linked to close respiratory contact with infected swine and or inhaling dust or hay infected with droplets of the
(39) World Bank. Projects - Haiti: AVIAN INFLUENZA CONTROL AND HUMAN INFLUENZA EMERGENCY PREPARDNESS AND CONTROL. 2010; Available at: http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P111667. Accessed 6/27/2010, 2010.
Recent concerns regarding the risks of Avian flu and other exotic diseases prompted some local poultry farmers to adopt strict biosecurity protocols in order to keep their birds safe. ...
The Flu was first founded in Seattle September, 1918. The avian flu can also be known as the “Bird Flu”. The bird flu is being passed around by migratory birds. It can be transmitted from birds to mammals and in some limited circumstances to humans. The flu will also be known as the H5N1 virus. The H5N1 virus has raised concerns about a potential human pandemic because its virulent (deadly; extremely dangerous) and it can evolve like other influenza viruses. As many other viruses and illnesses the flu can be a lot more deadlier. When you get the flu the lungs are severely harmed from infected cells called macrophages and T-cells. The virus can spread way beyond the lungs but generally do not. Many people catch the flu and think they have the common cold because of some of the same symptoms. But actually the flu can be more dangerous if you don’t treat it immediately.
The swine influenza or swine flu is a respiratory disease in pigs that is caused by the type A influenza viruses. These viruses are referred to as swine flu viruses but scientifically the main virus is called the swine triple reassortant (tr) H1N1 influenza virus. When the viruses infect humans they are called variant viruses. This infection has been caused in humans mainly by the H1N1v virus in the United States. The H1N1 virus originates in animals due to improper conditions and the food they ingest. The virus stays in latency form, thus harmless to the respective animal. The longer the animals survive the more likely the virus is to develop and strengthen making it immune to vaccines. The virus reproduced through the lytic cycle. The virus injects its own nucleic acids into a host cell and then they form a circle in the center of the cell. Rather than copying its own nucleic acids, the cell will copy the viral acids. The copies of viral acids then organize themselves as viruses inside of the cell. The membrane will eventually split leaving the viruses free to infect other cells.
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)