MICR 2420 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Reassortment, Zanamivir, Influenza
8 Dec 2017
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Document Summary
Influenza a virus: one of the most common life-threatening viruses of the western world: approx. 10% of the population of us and canada are infected every year. Influenza b virus: narrower host range than influenza a, can cause serious disease but mutates much more slowly. Influenza c virus: narrower host range than influenza a, can cause serious disease but does not spread as easily, cyclic appearance of extremely virulent strains that cause pandemic mortality. Influenza pandemics: 1918 spanish flu, 1958 asian flu, 1968 hong kong flu, 2009 h1n1 wasn"t as severe, new fear: h7n9 causes very serious disease in a high proportion of infected people. Influenza a virus is highly virulent and lyses infected cells with little or no latent state: the flu virus causes periodic pandemics of respiratory disease. Influenza has a segmented genome, with eight separate linear strands of rna. Influenza is a huge global public health challenge.
