The Influenza Virus

(Diagram taken from Molecular Expressions)

The Influenza virus is kills 250,000 to 500,000 people every year. In the United States it is in the top ten killers, surpassing more illnesses such as HIV, which is publicised far more. However, like HIV, most deaths are due to complications from the virus rather than the virus itself. It is typically an airborne disease, spreading through coughs and sneezes, transmitting by forming an aerosol which can be breathed in by other people. Symptoms are similar, but usually more severe, to that of the common cold. However, the structure of the two viruses is very different. The Influenza flu virus comes in three distinct forms (A, B, C) which together form the family Orthomyxoviridae. The A virus, which can affect both humans and animals is most commonly responsible for epidemic or pandemic outbreaks because of the way that it mutates (antigenic shift, see below). The B virus, which only affects humans, is commonly responsible for local outbreaks. The C virus does not cause any symptoms, and so doctors tend to put emphasis on the former two. The flu virion is around 80 to 120 nanometres in size and is usually circular or oval, although certain strains can be a more elongated shape. The virus is enveloped in a lipid bilayer which is derived from a host cell. Spikes are embedded in the envelope. Around 80% of these spikes are used for attaching the virion onto its host cell and are made up of a glycoprotein called hemagglutinin. These hemagglutinin proteins determine the variable symptoms of different flu strands because they control where in the respiratory tract the particles will settle, which can cause varying symptoms. The other 20% are made up of a glycoprotein called neuraminidase which facilities the release of new virus particles out of the host cell. There are medications that have been developed which black this glycoprotein and can reduce spread of influenza inside the body. Within the envelope is the influenza genome which consists of 8 single strands of RNA. The RNA is packaged in a nucleoprotein in a helical form, with three polymerase peptides for each RNA strand.

Mutations in the structure of the virus have resulted in there being many different strands of the virus such as Swine Flu A(H2N1) and Spanish Flu A(H1N1). When these mutations occur, the flu virus to be able to elude the immune system and cause maximum damage, because the body is far less able to fight it off. This type of mutation can occur in both A and B viruses and is given the name antigenic drift, meaning that the mutations build up over time to instil an effect. Both strands are constantly undergoing antigenic drift, which is why scientists need to come up with new vaccines annually to allow for mutations in the virus. (Source: Molecular Expressions: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu) Both public health laboratories and private vaccine companies combine efforts to make, test and produce this vaccine for the 250 million people to whom it is administered. They do this by using particles based on the strain of the virus which they predict will dominate. (Source: Science Direct) They do this by monitoring the spread of flu throughout the year in national influenza centres. These centres monitor which strains of influenza are present and how they are spreading, as well as how easily they are transmitted in order to predict what the most prominent strand will be. They can also test the affects of the current vaccine against any new strains that have appeared and work on developing it to defend against the new viruses. The World Health Organisation organises consultations twice a year in which they recommend which viruses are to be a composite to new vaccines. However, different countries may develop slightly different vaccines according to research in their particular country. The different strains of flu virus have to be deactivated so that the vaccines do not cause disease themselves. This is most commonly done by combing with lab-produced viruses which cause genetic mutation and produces a harmless hybrid of the disease. The vaccine can take six months to develop and even longer to distribute, so scientist generally start working on it in early January to prepare for the manufacture and delivery in the winter months when influenza is most common. (Source: CDC) Influenza A can affect many different animals, and so it can also undergo a mutation called antigenic shift. This occurs when different strains of the viruses combine to form a new and unique virus. For instance, if a human lives on a farm raising both pigs and poultry, they may get a virus which combines both the pig strain and the bird strain, resulting in a new strain which can affect all three species. These mutations are unpredictable and scientists are not able to prepare for them because they do not follow a clear correlation of trend, which means that they are able to cause pandemics at an alarming rate and can be very difficult to treat in large numbers. These mutations are the cause of the death of millions during influenza pandemics, which have occurred throughout history and in recent years. An example of this is the 1918-1920 Spanish Flu pandemic, which killed around 3% of the population after infecting almost a quarter. The speed at which the flu spread, and its fatality was unprecedented by scientists of the time. (Source: Molecular Expressions: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu)

Sources: Molecular Expressions: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu This website was created by the Optical Microscopy Division of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory which consists of a combination of scientists from Florida State University, The University of Florida and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The website was developed primarily as a photo gallery, providing colour photographs taken through an optical microscope. However, the site also contains basic information on range of viruses and other details about microbiology. This site is a reliable source of information because the scientists who are working on it are respected in their field and it is a combined effort, which means there is not a particular university/organisation who will be benefitting more than another. Science Direct Science direct was a website set up by a science journal company named Elsevier. The aim of the site was to group different research articles together in order to aid scientists in storing and accessing data which may be useful for their own research. This site is aimed a scientists, and makes its money from organisations who trust them to provide information. This makes it more reliable because they have a clear motivation to provide the truth. The company have produced scientific journals before aimed at all sorts of people from nurses to medical students. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention This agency is a part of the US federal government and contributes to the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is set up in order to work towards national and global health, and its primary aim is to prevent disease and minimise the number of fatalities to do with disease by providing information and funding. The agency is likely to have sincere knowledge of the current state of disease control and is trusted by the US government to provide reliable information. Therefore, it seems that information from this source can be trusted.