Influenza Virus : A Unique History And Evolution Pattern

According to Center for Disease Control (CDC), influenza viruses are divided into three types, designated as A, B, and C. Influenza type C usually only causes either very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Types A and B, however, are responsible for epidemics of respiratory illnesses that can result in hospitalization, or even death. Influenza is constantly changing over time by mutations. This continual change allows the virus to evade the antibodies that were meant to kill it. A host infected with influenza virus develops antibodies against that virus; as the virus changes, the "first" antibody no longer recognizes the "newer" virus and infection can occur because the host does not recognize the new flu virus as a problem until the infection is well under way. The first antibody developed may, in some instances, provide partial protection against infection with a new influenza virus. According to Medicine Net.com, In 2009, almost all individuals had no antibodies that could recognize the novel H1N1 virus immediately. It quickly spread throughout the world so fast that the WHO declared this new flu strain (termed novel H1N1 influenza A swine flu). There are currently four main strains of influenza circulating worldwide. Three of the viruses are type A, and one is type B. Type A viruses are divided into subtypes based on the differences in two viral proteins called hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). The three subtypes of influenza A are A(H1N1), A(H3N2), and A(H5N1). The reason for several strands of type A are because of the two kinds of change influenza A

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, an innocent little virus that annually comes and goes, has always been a part of people’s lives. Knowing this, one would not believe that it has caused not one, not two, but three pandemics and is on its way to causing a fourth! The Spanish flu of 1918, the Asian flu of 1957, and the Hong Kong

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.

Avian influenza is a disease that has been wreaking havoc on human populations since the 16th century. With the recent outbreak in 1997 of a new H5N1 avian flu subtype, the world has begun preparing for a pandemic by looking upon its past affects. In the 20th Century, the world witnessed three pandemics in the years of 1918, 1957, and 1968. In 1918 no vaccine, antibiotic, or clear recognition of the disease was known. Killing over 40 million in less than a year, the H1N1 strain ingrained a deep and lasting fear of the virus throughout the world. Though 1957 and 1968 brought on milder pandemics, they still killed an estimated 3 million people and presented a new

Influenza is caused by an RNA virus from the Orthomyxoviridae family (that consists of the genera influenza A, B, and C). Human influenza A and B viruses cause seasonal epidemics almost each winter within the United States. Influenza type B infects humans only, therefore it is unable of undergoing a mutation. Pandemics are caused solely by influenza A strains. The emergence of a new and completely different influenza virus to infect people will cause an influenza pandemic. Influenza kind C infections cause a mild respiratory illness and aren't thought to cause epidemics (Duncan, 2013).

Each winter season brings the horrid infectious disease, influenza also commonly known as “the flu.” Just in the past week, over 250 cases of positive specimens were gathered with it being the highest week in the year of 2017. Influenza has already been in full force this winter, with many people around Australia falling ill. Everyone in their lifetime suffers from the nasty flu as sometime in their life, but for some, it’s a critical and complicated disease. In the selected years of 2006, 2010 and 2015, influenza was one of the leading causes of death. Influenza and pneumonia are at rank 12, with 2015 having at least 3,402 deaths, more than breast cancer. “There has been a total of 12, 360 laboratories confirmed notifications of influenza

According to Healthy People 2020 a goal of theirs is to “increase immunization rates and reduce preventable infections.” The influenza virus is one of these preventable infections, which can cause serious harm to patients. The influenza virus is known as the “flu.” Everyone in his or her life has had some experience with the flu, whether that is himself or herself or a family member. What if there was a way to ensure people from contracting a strain of the influenza virus? Well, thanks to technology and medical research there is.

Influenza A viruses are very diverse, and two viruses that share a subtype may be only distantly related. The high variability is the result of two processes, mutation and genetic reassortment (Fenner et al., 1987) 79. These viruses lack a proofreading and error correction mechanism during replication, therefore small, constant genetic changes occur due to point mutation, deletion, or substitution, which can result in new mutants (CDC, 2005; Escorcia et al. 2008). In case selective pressures (such as neutralizing antibodies, suboptimal receptor binding or chemical antivirals) are acting during viral replication on a host or population scale, mutants with corresponding selective advantages(e.g. escape from neutralisation, reshaped receptor-binding

Influenza is one of the most contagious illnesses caused by airborne viruses. I can lead to mild or severe illness and even death. Influenza can come suddenly and is marginally different to a ‘Cold”. The virus can cause infections of the lower respiratory tract (lungs) and the upper respiratory tract (throat, nasal). Influenza is disease that may cause symptom such as the following; fever (high body temperature), sore throat, muscle or body aches, cough, Headaches, runny or stuffy nose, fatigue/tiredness (CDC, 2016). it belongs to “Orthomyxoviridae” family of infections, “myxa” meaning ‘mucus’ in Greek. There are three major types of influenza that may also be addressed as different terminologies, such as flu

Microbiology traces the influenza viruses as enveloped RNA viruses from the Orthomyxoviridae family. Their genome has been identified as having a high mutation rate and they show increased antigenic diversity. Their core protein can be classified into three distinct types: A, B and C. Influenza viruses have two major antigenic surface glycoproteins embedded into their membrane: the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) which create the antibody response in humans4. Influenza types A, B and C can infect various mammals including humans, pigs, horses and both wild and domestic birds.

Influenza viruses are negative-stranded, segmented RNA viruses. They belong to the family of orthomyxoviridae and are major pathogen of both humans and animals. They are one of the leading causes of respiratory tract infections in humans and animals. Upon the viral infection, both innate and adaptive immune responses are induced. The virus is continuously undergoing antigenic change and thus bypasses the host's acquired immunity to influenza. The difficulty in generation of antibodies against the virus is because of frequent antigenic drifts. Now it is found these shifts involve subtle changes in the antigenic configuration of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Despite the improvement in antiviral therapy during the last decade, vaccination

Influenza also known as the flu will be the next virus of discussion. Like Ebola and HIV; Influenza is characterized as an enveloped virus but consist of eight segments of single-stranded RNA. The shape of the Influenza virus is as that of HIV, round. Structurally the round influenza cell is covered in an envelope that is made of a lipid bilayer with spikes of glycoproteins that are called hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. With those types of proteins, the virus is able to bind with a host cell.

Restate Thesis: Influenza is a common virus that is present in almost every part of the world. Studies show that influenza causes people to be prevalent to other diseases, especially respiratory diseases. According to an article on The Lancet, August 14th, 2009 by Jamieson, the virus caused the widespread outbreak of respiratory infection

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”