Confused About Swine Flu?

There are basically three types of influenza viruses i.e. A, B and C. Influenza A viruses are further classified, based on the viral surface proteins (H) and neuraminidase (N). Sixteen H subtypes (or serotypes) and nine N subtypes of influenza A virus have been identified. The type A viruses are the most virulent human pathogens among the three influenza types and cause the most severe disease. The type B and C viruses are less common than type A.
What is 'Swine Flu" then? Influenza A H1N1 caused "Spanish Flu" in 1918, "Swine flu" in 2009; H2N2 caused "Asian Flu"; H3N2 caused "Hong Kong Flu"; H5N1 caused "bird flu".

The Pandemic H1N1/09 virus is believed to be a new strain of Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic. In the 2009 flu pandemic, the virus isolated from patients in the United States was found to be made up of genetic elements from four different flu viruses – North American swine influenza, North American avian influenza, human influenza, and swine influenza virus typically found in Asia and Europe. This new strain appears to be a result of reassortment of human influenza and swine influenza viruses, in all four different strains of subtype H1N1.

The initial outbreak was called the "H1N1 influenza", or "Swine Flu" by American media. It is called pandemic H1N1/09 virus by the WHO, while the CDC refers to it as "novel influenza A (H1N1)" or "2009 H1N1 flu". In the Netherlands, it was originally called "Pig Flu", but is now called "New Influenza A (H1N1)" by the national health institute, although the media and general population use the name "Mexican Flu". The World Organization for Animal Health proposed the name "North American influenza".The European Commission adopted the term "novel flu virus".

The outbreak began in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, with evidence that there had been an ongoing epidemic for months before it was officially recognized as such. The Mexican government closed most of Mexico City's public and private facilities in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. However the virus continued to spread globally, clinics in some areas were overwhelmed by people infected, and the World Health Organization (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stopped counting cases and in June declared the outbreak to be a pandemic.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Pandemic H1N1/09 virus.

By: drfrank

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