Influenza Essay

A commonly contagious disease of the lower respiratory system, the Influenza (Flu) Virus, is transmitted through airborne- droplet transmission, such as coughing, sneezing, or talking or by also touching infected surface areas. The virus Influenzavirus is made up of eight RNA segments, that are found inside the layer of proteins and outer lipid bilayer. The virus has two different protein projections, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) spikes, that help distinguish it. The HA spikes is divided into 18 subtypes, that allow a virus to recognize and attach to the body cells before infecting them, antigenic shifts is responsible for the outbreaks of pandemics of 1918, 1957, and 1968, while the NA spikes, is divided into 11 subtypes, that
Due to its symptoms and signs, it is hard to determine the disease influenza from another respiratory disease. “There are several commercially available techniques that can diagnose influenza A from B within 20 minutes from a taken sample,” the techniques can identify the different strains of the disease (Tortora et al. pg.701). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu and the common cold have been know to have the same symptoms: ‘cough, chills, sore throat, runny nose, muscle/body aches, headaches, and fatigue,’ the only difference is that the common cold has a milder effect, while the flu can cause serious problems like pneumonia; special tests in the first days must be conducted to tell them apart
Within influenza, there are three different types of viruses, such as type A, B, C, and D, of the four the common types are A and B, that arise during the cold climates. The virus is constantly changing its genetic, therefore explaining why the composition of the vaccine is being revised and reviewed each year, - to update with the evolving virus. The CDC and the world health organization-WHO “conduct surveillance of circulating flu viruses to make informed decisions on the selection of viruses for use in creating vaccines against viruses with pandemic potential” (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/index.htm). The CDC also conducts research to learn where they spread, how they spread and what disease they cause, with this type of information they can develop strategies to prevent and treat this virus. The research that the CDC has conducted are “antigenic characterization (analysis of flu virus’ surface features using antibodies), antiviral resistance (virus samples are tested to determine resistance to FDA-approved flu antiviral drugs), genetic characterization (the study of genes of a flu virus through genome sequencing procedure), serology (the study of blood serum, they contain antibodies that respond to the infection or vaccination), and assessment of bird flu viruses’ ability to cause disease”