Have you been watching the news at all recently? If so, you’ve probably heard the term “Swine Flu” or “H1N1 Flu” bouncing around a lot. While most people come down with the normal human flu at some point, it’s not really a danger to anyone but the very young and the very old. Why is this flu different and what does it have to do with pigs?
Recently, some changes in the status quo have raised alarm bells at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). There have been reports of “swine flu” in Mexico and several other countries whose citizens regularly visit Mexico, including the United States. Since this is a general information article and not a “minute by minute” report, refer to major news outlets for more accurate information regarding confirmed cases. As of this moment, though, it looks like over 80 deaths in Mexico are the result of contact with swine flu and there have been confirmed cases of the new pathogen in New York, Ohio, Kansas, California, and possibly other states.
The peplomers are a double edged sword. They allow the viral particles access to the machinery of the cell (this is how viruses replicate themselves), but they also allow the immune system to recognize and target the virus. When the human flu virus mutates its external proteins, the body’s defenses still recognize them and eventually mount a response (the period of sickness occurs while the body is developing that response). If this failed to happen, you would eventually succumb to the virus and die.
The virus didn’t originate in humans, though. Birds, pigs, and even horses have their own versions of influenza. Remember the “bird flu” or “avian flu” scare a while ago? Scientists feared the influenza common in birds had “jumped the species barrier” and begun infecting humans. This is called a “zoonotic” disease – a disease that moves from animals to people. Now, the same worries have arisen about swine flu. Why does this matter? Won’t our immune system just deal with the new influenza virus the same way it has always done with the seasonal one?
Unfortunately the answer is a weak “maybe.” While your immune system might not immediately stop a new human influenza infection, it DOES recognize that new mutant and begin building a response. Avian and swine peplomers, on the other hand, are not easily recognized by the human system because our evolution did not include pressure from those particular viruses. As humans have come into close contact with the animals that carry these viruses, the animal influenza has been able to mutate enough to cross the species bridge and infect humans as well. In the past this would not have been a global problem. An infected village might just die out in isolation. Things are different now: a traveler can become infected in one region and fly thousands of miles to another, long before they experience symptoms.
As a young microbiologist, I’d say that for the moment we shouldn’t worry too much. There are people who have spent their whole lives preparing for just these kinds of events and they’re currently working very hard to provide the public with the best information and advice. Hopefully you now have a better understanding of the science behind influenza and zoonotic diseases. I’ve put some links at the bottom of this posting for further reading. Also, feel free to post a comment or @me on Twitter should you have any more questions.
Update: The World Health Organisation says that the Swine Influenza virus, or “Swine Flu” will now be named the Influenza A(H1N1) or just H1N1 flu.
Additional Resources:
By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
[First Image of Influenza Virus from El_Enigma on Flicker with CC | Second Image of Influenza Virus from AJC1 on Flicker with CC | CDC Logo from the FDA website, Geeks Are Sexy does not represent the CDC or any other government agency]
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