Swine Flu Even Bigger Danger Than Thought
Yesterday I read an article about how humans can give Swine Flu to Pigs. Irony at its finest. Today I see the headline that it is even more dangerous than before and fully expected it to be about pigs getting swine flu, but alas I am mistaken.
A new in depth study of the “H1HN1″ (Swine Flu) flu virus shows that the pathogen is more virulent than previously thought.
Writing in a fast-tracked report published July 13, 2009 in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers led by UW-Madison virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka provides a detailed portrait of the pandemic virus and its pathogenic qualities.
In contrast with run-of-the-mill seasonal flu viruses, the H1N1 virus exhibits an ability to infect cells deep in the lungs, where it can cause pneumonia and, in severe cases, death. Seasonal viruses typically infect only cells in the upper respiratory system.
“There is a misunderstanding about this virus,” says Kawaoka, a professor of pathobiological sciences at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine and a leading authority on influenza. “People think this pathogen may be similar to seasonal influenza. This study shows that is not the case. There is clear evidence the virus is different than seasonal influenza.”
the virus is found to be similar to the virus that killed nearly 10 million people in 1918 towards the end of WWI. Of course other similarities to the H1N1 virus, and the one from 1918 also exist. If someone is actually alive still from that time period they have developed antibodies which can help protect against the HIN1 virus.
The new Nature report also assessed the immune response of different groups to the new virus. The most intriguing finding, according to Kawaoka, is that those people exposed to the 1918 virus, all of whom are now in advanced old age, have antibodies that neutralize the H1N1 virus. “The people who have high antibody titers are the people born before 1918,” he notes.
Kawaoka notes that although finding the virus to be more serious than previously thought is troubling, they have also found indications that existing and experimental antiviral drugs can form an effective first line of defense against the virus and slow its spread.
It is now flu season in the world’s southern hemisphere, and the virus is expected to return in force to the northern hemisphere during the fall and winter flu season. So they have much more to worry about than producing awesome equestrian apparel at this time.
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Filed under: Science by JMH
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I have a relative who got the Swine Flu in Mexico. It is a good thing that he already recovered from this disease.
the H1N1 or Swine Flu Virus is very scary at first but now it is well controlled by vaccines and prevention by avoiding going into places with incidence of swine flu.
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