Medical School

H1N1 Virus

(Source: dailycontributor.com)

Historical Photo: The Spanish Flu

Soldiers from Fort Riley, Kansas ill with Spanish influenza at a hospital ward at Camp Funston in 1918, where the worldwide pandemic began

H1N1

Just in case you haven’t gotten a flu shot already….

Google Flu Vaccine Finder

Influenza A strains that can infect mammals (eg, pigs and humans) may undergo genetic reassortment through contact with avian strains. The reassortment of an avian strain with a mammalian strain may produce a chimeric virus that is transmissible between mammals; such mutation products may contain hemagglutinin and/or neuraminidase proteins that are unrecognizable to the immune systems of mammals. This antigenic shift results in a much greater population of susceptible individuals in whom more severe disease is possible.

Influenza

In the current outbreak in the United States, preliminary testing has shown the same genetic pattern in all cases of the virus. The virus is being described as a new subtype of influenza A/H1N1, one that has not previously been detected in either swine or humans. On April 26, 2009, the US Department of Health and Human Services declared a national public health emergency involving swine influenza A, citing its significant potential to affect national security.

Influenza