Contagion Bird Flu

A couple of days later, you are sneezing and blowing your nose. About half the kids in school are sick. So are a few teachers. Meanwhile, you shared a candy bar with your sister. It wasn't that good anyway. Pretty soon, she started sniffling. It isn't long before everyone in your home is hacking up snot. They introduced their germs to everyone and everything they contacted or sneezed near. And a lot of people got sick.

First of all, the name “Influenza” is derived from the Latin word for “influence”, and it is an infectious disease that is caused by the RNA viruses from the Orthomyxoviridae family:

Influenza, also known as the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus that infects the nose, throat, and lungs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

Most diseases begin with what is called "the virgin field"—a scenario in which humans have no natural or man-made immunity to the disease. To see the progress of a disease in a particular community, start by predicting how many sick days will be reported when you run the Kold disease through a medium-sized population, and record your prediction in the data table. In this first run-through, we'll assume that the population does not move around the field; they interact with their neighbors, but do not travel long distances.

According to the CDC there was a breakout in “1918-19 Flu pandemic, which killed as many as 50 million people worldwide”causing the biggest breakout for Influenza (Reconstruction of 1918 Influenza Pandemic Virus). Influenza originated from Asia and the Middle East. Virtually all mammalian species have influenza. Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the Influenza virus. There are three types of Influenza: type A, type B, and type C. Influenza has numerous symptoms, vaccinations, and is unlikely to kill it’s host.

There are there types of influenza A and C or the most severe types and B which is the most common, Luckily not the to severe. The virus works by first attaching to the outside of a host cell. It injects its RNA into the cell. Unfortunately our cells treat the RNA like they should. It translates the viral genes using the cell’s ribosomes and enzymes. Now the virus can take the cell over and use it to reproduce more viruses. Sooner or later it releases the new nauseating viruses and they search for another cell to raid.

Someone may sneeze or cough and not cover their mouths and another person may come along and inhale those water droplets left behind by the infected person, which will cause them to become infected. Another common route of transmission is when an infected person sneezes or coughs into their hand and touches a surface. A healthy person may then come along and touch the surface then their face, nose, mouth or eyes and then become infected with the influenza. The H1N1’s route of entry and exit is through the mouth and nose. The primary target for this H1N1 virus is the upper respiratory tract in humans. This virus spreads even more quickly among crowded places as well as being able to survive longer outside of the body in cold and dry environments. This specific influenza virus reproduces by the lytic cycle. Once the H1N1 virus has entered the body, it supplements its own DNA/RNA into the body’s cells. This instructs the cell to stop its normal functioning for the body and begin manufacturing the H1N1 virus. This non-living organism “hijacks” our bodies to supply the raw materials it needs to replicate and infect our bodies. Once the infected body cell makes enough viruses, it splits open or lyses resulting in the death of that cell and those new virus particles repeat the cycle, cell after cell until our body begins to fight back which is when we begin to feel the symptoms of the

7 Influenza transmit through respiratory droplet from an infect individual. When we come into contact with infections, our symptoms can be caused by two sources: the particular pathogen we are victim to and our immune response against the pathogen. The specific pathogens that enter our bodies can directly cause damage to our tissues and organs; certain pathogens can even affect various parts of our body, causing systemic infections. Systemic infections are caused by our own immune response, designed to destroy the pathogen, such as cytotoxic T-cells action cause Cell death in respiratory track. Our immune system reacts to the presence of the pathogen, and inflammatory response that causes collateral damage to our own tissues while

(Silverstein: 13) There are three types of influenza, depending on their activity: type A, which is usually the cause of outbreaks; type B, which is linked to sporadic cases, and type C, which rarely causes disease reactions. (Silverstein: 54) The virus which causes influenza enters the host through the respiratory tract, and binds itself to epithelial cells. The virus causes the cell to engulf it by endocytosis, and then fuses to the wall of the endocytic vesicle, injecting the contents of the virus into the cytosol of the cell. The RNA of the virus enter the nucleus of the cell, and spur the creation of new copies of the genes. These genes, as well as new viral proteins that are created in the cell, leave the cell as fresh viruses, budding off the plasma membrane of the cell.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Stay home when you are sick . Cover your nose and mouth . Clean your hands . Avoid touching your eyes , nose , or mouth.

This is an avian influenza virus that seem to have high virulent potential in human host. Birds who have survived the infection can excrete the virus for as long as 10 days. This makes migratory birds an extremely dangerous vector for this strain of flu. This specific strain is mostly seen in Asian countries first appearing in 1997 and can now be found in countries such as South Korea, China, and Vietnam. It was previously mentioned that human could also be potentially mixing vessel since their epithelial cells contain receptors for bird influenza virus. With such a potent strain, it is feared that human could one day pass this virus from person to person and this event would certain mark the beginning of the next great influenza

The virus mainly replicates in the respiratory tract and is spread by respiratory secretions. Birds acquired this disease from saliva, feces and nasal secretions from infected birds. People catch bird flu by close contact with birds or bird droppings. Exactly what "close contact" means differs from culture to culture.Some people have caught Avian flu from cleaning or plucking infected birds. In China, there have been reports of infection via inhalation of aerosolized materials in live bird markets. It's also possible that some people were infected after swimming or bathing in water contaminated with the droppings and feces of infected birds. H5N1 is the most common form of bird flu. It’s deadly to birds, and can easily affect humans and other animals that come in contact with a carrier. According to the World Health Organization, H5N1 was first discovered in humans in 1997, and has killed nearly 60 percent of those infected. The Avian Flu symptoms can be diarrhea, cough, respiratory difficulties, fever(over 100.4°F), headache, muscle aches, malaise, runny nose, sore throat and death. Birds that were infected and died still contributed to the spread of this disease by organisms coming in contact with the dead body and getting the germs from contact via touching dead infected

This season has witnessed the presence and impact that two flu strains, the A-H1N1, and the A-H3N2, but it is the A-H3N2 that is the main culprit guilty of causing the majority of influenza incidents this season. The A-H3N2 is noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as being linked to serious ailment in people over 65 and young kids, with at-risk kids being those under the age of 2. It is a rapidly mutating virus and is capable of evading vaccine, which is characterized as being 30% effective against the A-H3N2 strain. This means that this virus is nastier, capable of sending more people to the hospital, complicating underlying conditions, and causing more deaths.

One of those things being how quickly they were able replicate the vaccine (Bhat). According to Raymond Zilinskas, “There is much to appreciate about Contagion from a public health perspective. When the movie's CDC scientists explain the nature and course of the virus, we understand; the mechanisms of person-to-person infection clearly described, and visual models demonstrating the spread of MEV-1 by day and then week are realistic and appropriately frightening. The movie depicts, the panic that grows worldwide in a way that he thinks reflects what actually would happen in a real-life situation. The movie dramatically portrays how a vicious pandemic could shred society: health systems are overloaded, food supplies runs out, and transportation systems collapse. All of these effects are plausible. Yet far from everything in Contagion is believable: officials take nonsensical decisions, the uses of biomedical science are unrealistic, and the portrayal of public health operations is incomplete” (Zilinskas). The film also exaggerated the speed at which MEV-1 spreads and is considered implausible. Just five days after the index case is infected, the “WHO” is already aware of a budding pandemic, and at Day 8 the CDC estimates as many as 267,000 people are infected worldwide. For a real-life comparison, SARS was first detected in Guangdong Province, China, on November 16, 2002—but not identified; nearly three

     A virus called an Orthomyxovirus causes influenza. Often called flu, sometimes-even grippe. It is a very contagious disease, and it infects many parts of our bodies. This also includes are lungs. A person can get influenza if someone coughs, sneezes, or even talks around you while they are infected. Influenza is sometimes considered serious in some cases but can be prevented and treated.