How does the flu work?
A virus known as H1N1 has blanketed the Earth in less than a year, and as cold weather creeps across the Northern Hemisphere, the new flu may just be getting warmed up. While it has been less deadly than many feared after its initial outbreak in April, more than 7,820 people have nonetheless been killed, and the pandemic is already making this year's normal flu season much less normal.
In like phlegm
In antigenic shift, however, much more drastic changes can take place (click on the flow chart at right for an illustrated explanation). This usually requires the host to be simultaneously infected with two viruses, whose genes get mixed up in the nuclei of host cells besieged by both strains. The cell then produces hybrid viral strains that may have mashed-up components of each original strain. That's how a bird or swine flu, for example, can make the jump to infect humans, and it's how all three combined to spark the recent H1N1 outbreak. (Canine flu has yet to infect humans, but the CDC warns that it's always possible; it already jumped from horses to dogs.)- Flu.gov: Swine Flu (H1N1)
- Flu.gov: Bird Flu (H5N1)
- Flu.gov: Animal and Bird Issues
- CDC: H1N1 Background
- CDC: Transmission of Influenza Viruses from Animals to People
link:
Comments(11)
Posted By Anonymous - Wed, Dec 02 2009 at 10:33 AM ESTSwine flu catching in winter
I would like to know if the swine flu is going to catch again this winter.. do I need to take any vaccine..
Posted By Skye B. - Tue, Oct 27 2009 at 2:58 PM ESTTwo Videos Will Help Everyone Make Sense Of It
TWO Videos Everyone Needs To Watch:
How To Fight The H1N1 Virus ("#Swine Flu") http://bit.ly/4D32We
How To Prevent The Swine Flu http://bit.ly/2WIlIM
Posted By Inman Aligner birmingham - Sun, Nov 22 2009 at 12:17 PM ESTHow many affected
How many affected inUK
Posted By smith123 - Thu, Oct 08 2009 at 2:49 PM ESTflu
But why is it called swine flu? wondering the same thing?
Posted By Anonymous - Wed, Sep 30 2009 at 5:09 PM ESTH1N1 Can Be Serious
Good Article. Yes, the swine flu can be serious. My 19 year old daughter was hospitalized for five days this month. Individuals with compromised immune systems (diabetes, asthma, etc.) can get very sick. I think that getting Tamiflu within 48 hours of flu symptoms helped.
Posted By hsr0601 - Tue, Sep 29 2009 at 4:45 AM ESTSwine flu vaccines are thought to be safe and effective
1. Swine flu vaccines are thought to be safe and effective as the initial symptom is mild.
2. Folks need to stay vigilant on refraining form the in-take of pork, just in case of the mutation.
(( Genes included in the new swine flu have been circulating undetected in pigs for at least a decade, according to researchers who have sequenced the genomes of more than 50 samples of the virus. The findings suggest that in the future, pig populations will need to be monitored more.... More
Posted By Gorax - Wed, Dec 02 2009 at 10:35 AM ESTOh! I know! I know!
How the flu works:
1 - Bring flu to everyone's attention
2 - Exaggerate severity of said flu
3 - Praise big pharma's awesome vaccines
4 - Profit!
For those of us not swept away in the wave of hysteria, there's a healthy diet and an immune system.
Posted By Anonymous - Thu, Sep 17 2009 at 9:02 AM ESTSwine flu
Nice article. But why is it called swine flu ?
is the Swine flu symptoms> listed correct?
Posted By GreenErinF - Thu, May 14 2009 at 11:12 AM ESTFun animations
Thanks for this! The animations are easy to understand and it helped me to see how the flu virus makes copies of itself and then ends up infecting other cells. It's like a fun science lesson. :)



Facebook
Stumble
Tweet
Digg
Link














Companion Literature
See the following You tube video snippet for a companion literature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y77oExTDw8I&NR=1