Archive for August, 2010
What makes swine flu so dangerous is that like all influenza viruses it undergoes the process of antigenic drift. This is when spot mutations occur on the genetic material that causes slight changes in the physical make-up of the virus.
These slight changes are what frustrate scientist’s attempts to create the ultimate vaccination for influenza. Due to constant changes to the protein particles of the outer coats of viruses (which the immune system is targeted for during vaccination) new vaccines are always needed to combat ever new versions of the viruses.
Swine flu is an example of such a change. But what are these changes and what parts of the virus causes the damage that destroys normal healthy cells?
The H1N1 designation of the swine flu virus gives us a clue to the inner workings of the virus. It represents the major functional proteins on its surface.
The ‘H’… Read More
You could recall that learning how is the swine flu transmitted is one surefire method for preventing getting infected by the disease.
No doubt about it, the swine flu pandemic is all you hear on the morning News and what you read in the papers. With swine flu symptoms being highly contagious colleges have been closing in fear of spreading the virus even further.
This makes getting a factual swine flu update on a consistent basis – even daily – basis will help to decrease widespread panic and fear.
All in all, it’s best to be educated on what swine influenza cares to take to remain safe.
By the time you finish reading this article you will find out some important facts about swine flu and what you can do to protect yourself.
To kick off with, your first query could be “What is swine flu… Read More
The human cases of swine flu, which is spread by influenza virus A (H1N1), have been reported from Mexico and the US, where many people have fallen ill and even died from it. The health agencies are working closely and the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that some of the human cases are a never seen before version of this virus.
There are several methods of preventing flu, although in the case of swine flu, people should resort to effective anti-viral drugs like Tamiflu and Relenza for preventative reasons.
What is Swine flu?
Swine flu is a respiratory disease, which is caused by influenza type A virus (H1N1) that infects pigs. The symptoms of swine flu are similar to that of seasonal flu, although there have been several reported human deaths that are linked to swine flu. It is considered as new version of H1N1 strain, which caused… Read More
The Swine Flu 90 days after the first reports were made seems to have spread to over 30 countries. You can keep track now on Google Maps as to the day to day cases being reported around the globe. Many questions seem to be following this new virus that has a lot of people asking, what is the truth about swine flu? Where did it come from? If you find yourself asking these questions you are not alone. Thousands of websites have sprung up recently addressing these questions and more.
The virus has more the one inception story. Original reports were that it mutated it self on a farm deep in Mexico. Coming into contact with those that frequent the area and spreading among the populous. Others months later claim that the virus was engineered in a lab. The laboratory in question is proposed to have an affiliation of… Read More
Swine flu, now known as influenza A H1N1, is a type of influenza virus. This is a new strain of influenza that has been only recently that affect people. It is not caught by the pigs or eat pork. It is a human influenza virus and spread by people. Believed to be a combination of three types of influenza – Swine Flu, avian flu and human flu. The new strain is extremely contagious and is spreading rapidly throughout the world.
H1N1 is different from other strains of influenza. This strain of influenza has not been previously exposed to humans before so there is no built immunities to it. This is what makes it so serious. At present there is no prevention drug that can be taken to avoid it. That’s why people who are elderly, very young or those with compromised… Read More
