Influenza virus

INTRODUCTION: Influenza, more commonly known as the ‘flu’, is a chameleon like infectious disease, that presents itself with varying characteristics from year to year, due to the wavering identity of the strain. “Like HIV, influenza is an RNA virus, constantly changing its appearance and adept at eluding recognition by the human immune system” (Schneider, 2014). From its inception of 1918, influenza claims an average of 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide, annually. Little is known of the virus’s

The influenza virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae are two of the most common pathogens to affect humans; both generally pose no major concern to human life but have the potential to cause catastrophic damage to the lives of susceptible individuals. With many strains of the influenza virus being a constant presence around the world, and S. pneumoniae being a normally harmless commensal bacterium residing in the nasal cavities and upper respiratory tract of healthy individuals , it is likely impossible

2015). Influenza is a viral respiratory illness that is highly contagious (Influenza (Flu), 2015). Since it is so contagious it can cause a pandemic, epidemic, or outbreak causing sporadic cases (Mestrovic, 2014). There are two major types of influenza viruses type A and type B (Mestrovic,

specifically MMTV (mouse mammary tumor virus), binding to LPS improve their chances of successful transmission. MMTV-bound LPS get binds to toll-like receptor 4, which is a pattern recognition receptor of LPS. This event eventually leads to the induction of interleukin-10 (IL-10), which is an immune response inhibitory cytokine. By producing IL-10, it allows MMTV to go undetected by the

doctor offices and urgent care visits. Most of them present similar symptoms of upper respiratory tract (URT) infections which affects the air passage in the nose, ears and throat. Among them, 5 to 20 percents of these symptoms are contracted by influenza, commonly called “the flu” (11). According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu diseases are episodic and can be acute which has claimed 3000 to 49000 lives from 1976 to 2006 although there have been no findings on a mortality

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.

Influenza Virus Influenza is a viral infection that attacks your respiratory system — your nose, throat and lungs. The virus is sphere covered with spike like proteins, called the hem agglutinin and the neuraminidase, ready to latch on to a healthy human cell. The process of entering a cell, reproducing, and moving to another cell takes about 4 to 6 hours. There are multiple complications of the influenza virus such as Guillain-Barre syndrome and Reye's syndrome. The most serious complication is

Unlike DNA viruses, the RNA influenza virus lacks the proofreading mechanism to self-repair arising errors during its replication. Thus two forms of genetic variations representing a hallmark feature of influenza viruses. The antigenic drift occurred in influenza type A and influenza type B. The accumulation of changes in surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, by gene sequence mutations of virus RNA segments causing the antigenic drift. These mutations cause minor changes in HA and

Is There a ‘Single’ Vaccine for the Influenza Virus Introduction/ Background     The human immune system is constantly undergoing changes because of the pathogens that are trying to invade the body. Once the pathogens cross your initial barriers your body has a second defence that comes into play. This is your immune system which is composed of your innate and adaptive immunity. Innate immunity has two line of defense, the first line starting with the skin and mucosal membranes, these create barrier

The H1N1 Influenza Virus A virus is “snippet of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA” (YouTube, Dr. Tony Fauci, H1N1 Influenza a Virus, 2009) that is able to replicate itself only in other cells. Unlike bacteria, a virus cannot thrive on its own. A virus has to break into a cell and take control of the cell functions in order to replicate, often causing disease. Some viruses are benign, and others cause diseases like polio, smallpox, and measles. There are be three types of influenza: A, B, and C, which