[Music]
the flu is a highly contagious
respiratory illness it turns up year
after year with devastating consequences
all caused by a most elusive virus the
influenza or flu virus is a recurring
nightmare it causes more than 36,000
deaths in the u.s. each year and was
responsible for some of history’s
deadliest pandemics like other viruses
the flu virus is a parasite the viral
agent itself called a very on is made of
a ribonucleic acid or RNA surrounded by
proteins the flu virus uses two proteins
to attack its host hemagglutinin and
neuraminidase or the h a and na proteins
the H a protein attaches the virus to a
cell and lets it in once the virus is
inside it multiplies then the na protein
cuts this viral swarm loose sending it
off to infect more cells this triggers
the immune system to bombard the swarm
and to destroy infected tissue
throughout the respiratory system
unfortunately this response can also
inadvertently lead to death through
organ failure or secondary infections
like bacterial pneumonia
[Music]
the flu virus has been nearly impossible
to eradicate largely due to its uncanny
ability to mutate since just 2004 more
than 5,000 different strains of the
influenza virus have been sequenced
those that affect humans are categorized
as types a B or C with type A strains
being the most capable of unleashing a
pandemic influenza A viruses mutate more
rapidly allowing them to adapt to new
hosts and even cross-species avian flu
and swine flu for instance are two
strains of Type A viruses that through
mutations can be transmitted from birds
and pigs to humans one of the deadliest
flu pandemics was caused by one such
virus between 1918 and 1919 the Spanish
flu infected a third of the global
population and killed up to 50 million
people worldwide called h1n1 this
particular strain of virus likely came
the threat of another influenza pandemic
remains in the meantime scientists are
constantly monitoring the flu virus and
developing seasonal vaccines to create our best line of defense
the flu is a highly contagious
respiratory illness it turns up year
after year with devastating consequences
all caused by a most elusive virus the
influenza or flu virus is a recurring
nightmare it causes more than 36,000
deaths in the u.s. each year and was
responsible for some of history’s
deadliest pandemics like other viruses
the flu virus is a parasite the viral
agent itself called a very on is made of
a ribonucleic acid or RNA surrounded by
proteins the flu virus uses two proteins
to attack its host hemagglutinin and
neuraminidase or the h a and na proteins
the H a protein attaches the virus to a
cell and lets it in once the virus is
inside it multiplies then the na protein
cuts this viral swarm loose sending it
off to infect more cells this triggers
the immune system to bombard the swarm
and to destroy infected tissue
throughout the respiratory system
unfortunately this response can also
inadvertently lead to death through
organ failure or secondary infections
like bacterial pneumonia
[Music]
the flu virus has been nearly impossible
to eradicate largely due to its uncanny
ability to mutate since just 2004 more
than 5,000 different strains of the
influenza virus have been sequenced
those that affect humans are categorized
as types a B or C with type A strains
being the most capable of unleashing a
pandemic influenza A viruses mutate more
rapidly allowing them to adapt to new
hosts and even cross-species avian flu
and swine flu for instance are two
strains of Type A viruses that through
mutations can be transmitted from birds
and pigs to humans one of the deadliest
flu pandemics was caused by one such
virus between 1918 and 1919 the Spanish
flu infected a third of the global
population and killed up to 50 million
people worldwide called h1n1 this
particular strain of virus likely came
the threat of another influenza pandemic
remains in the meantime scientists are
constantly monitoring the flu virus and
developing seasonal vaccines to create our best line of defense
Please follow and like us: