The H1N1 Influenza: An overview of the Swine Flu
In late March of 2009 the Novel H1N1 swine influenza was discovered in the small town of La Gloria, Mexico. Since then the ‘swine flu’ has spread across the globe to over 168 countries, killing reportedly 1154 people with 436 in the United States alone. The World Health Organization and Central for Disease Control have both asserted that the virus has the potential to cause a future pandemic. Information regarding the disease is storming the web along with constant news updates on major new stations. All the information can become rather confusing and at times numbers become kind of fuzzy and inaccurate. Prevention of the disease on the individual level should be a top priority among individuals, especially those that are traveling or residing in urban areas. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals that believe the virus has no potential to become a pandemic, while others believe it’s all just media hype. Before formulating a rather insignificant opinion of that kind, let’s take a look at the information regarding the flu, and why exactly it has top level agencies on the edge.
The History & Nomenclature
Pandemics similar to the H1N1 virus have struck before, one of the major ones being the 1918 Spanish flu, an influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1, that left around fifty million dead globally. The virus attacked the epithelial cells, and lungs of the victim, similar to the Avian virus, that, as of now, is not capable of spreading from human to human. The 1918 Spanish flu came to an abrupt end in 1920 after its second wave. Scientists believe that the virus may have mutated rapidly to a less lethal strain causing its quick demise, however, it still left 50 million or more dead. Both the 1918 virus and the new H1N1 influenza virus have the same subtype and similar audience host. Instead of being lethal to just the elderly, weak, and young like most influenza flues, the H1N1 strains seem to attack the healthier median age groups of 17 to 60. This could be due to a variety of reasons, one of them being “cytokine storms”, where the immune system of stronger, healthier individuals attacks the viruses more lethally, causing damage to the body. World health agencies fear that the current H1N1 influenza virus could began to spread far more quickly once it has reached poorer third world countries that do not have a proper infrastructure in place to stop the flu.
Why is it called the H1N1?
It is called the H1N1 influenza because of the genes it uses to spread from cell to cell. Let’s take a bird for example. Flu viruses usually start in the digestive tracts of birds. They aren’t as dangerous to the birds as they are to us once they are able to mutate and spread from birds to humans. Birds and the viral strains inside of them have 16 different hemagglutinin genes. These genes are used to get into a host cell. The swine flu and the Spanish flu of 1918 both use hemagglutinin gene 1 or as we refer to it ‘H1’ to enter into the host or in this case human cell. Once they are in they reproduce and kill off the host cell, however, before the virus can successfully reproduce it needs a way to exit the host cell, and for this it utilizes the neuraminidase gene. The typical bird has 9 of these. Once more the current influenza virus uses neuraminidase 1 or ‘N1’, therefore giving it the name, H1N1.
Why Worry?
As mentioned earlier many debate that the current H1N1 virus does not have the capability of becoming a pandemic or the chances of it becoming a pandemic are so slim that there is no need to become alarmed. Heck, some go as far as to suggest that this is all a government plan. To quickly debunk that let me say that no one would ever release a virus such as this into the GLOBAL population. It could mutate at anytime and become uncontrollable. Now back to why many believe the virus is only media hype.
Every year thousands die from the seasonal influenza virus and millions from other lethal pre-existing diseases such as Malaria, and HIVs. Also true is the fact that in the previous years and decades there have been many other ‘media hypes’ regarding viral strains with a potential to become a pandemic. The fact is that the risk or chances of these viruses becoming a pandemic are small, however, if they do become one then the death toll will be devastating. The best ways to prevent any strain from becoming a potential pandemic is through education, precaution, and government infrastructure. Most humans have developed immunity against many pre-existing diseases, including the seasonal flu, therefore, usually only the weak and elderly are at high risk. A strain like the H1N1, however, is different. It is in phase 5 and can spread from human to human and the fact is that no one has immunity to it.
The chart above compares the spread of the seasonal flu to that of the H1N1 virus from generation to generation, with a generation being the amount of time it takes for the amount of infections to double. A person infected with the seasonal flu is not likely to pass it on to 100% of the individuals he or she comes into contact with due to the immunities they have developed. The H1N1 swine flu, however, will spread and infect all those that come in contact with droplets containing the viral strain. The display on the right is illustrating a worst case scenario, that is very possible. Now if government infrastructure and individuals themselves take action then it will not spread as quickly. If 3 out of the 5 people from generation 2 take precautions to avoid the disease than it would DRASTICALLY reduce the amount of people infected. I’m emphasizing these figures to explain exactly why the swine flu has the capability to become so much more lethal than the seasonal flu. It has already spread to many third world countries and could quickly become a pandemic. Whether or not it does, is simply up to chance. Its like getting struck by lightening in a sense, or a nuclear war taking place, the chances of it happening may be low, but damn if it does happen, its gonna be lethal. Only the H1N1 has far higher chances of becoming a pandemic.
Prevention & Safety
Health agencies around the world are warning individuals about a number of precautions that can be taken to avoid infection, especially to those that are constantly traveling. The problem in a scenario like this is how could the virus possibly be contained if millions are infected, and how can enough medication be produced quickly enough to help such a large sum of people. Well, my answer is to prevent it from spreading.
- Stay informed and educate others.
- Wash your hands with soap and warm water constantly, especially after leaving a crowded public area or coughing/sneezing.
- Avoid touching your eyes and mouth.
- Since influenza is spread primarily through droplets from coughing, sneezing, etc… STAY CLEAN!!!
- Follow public health advice and your local news for more updates
- STAY HEALTHY
- Visit your local doctor if you symptoms of the flu remain dominant after two days. Both the seasonal flu and H1N1 influenza have the exact same symptoms as of now. Symptoms can include body pain, chills, nausea, sore throat, fever, and runny nose.
So once more stay health and educate others. I look forward to any and all comments or questions!
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