Pandemic Potential of Influenza Virus H1N1 - Research Paper Example

AR Pandemic potential of emerging diseases - H1N1 Pandemic potential of emerging diseases - H1N1 Introduction In the world today it is seenthat the diseases are increasing in number. Although new drugs are being introduced to tackle these diseases it is seen that these new diseases do not tend to stop. Researchers put forward different theories regarding this increasing number. Emerging pathogens are one of the most potent of all these causes which are believed to be causing these diseases. A pathogen is any substance or microorganism which has the potential to cause a disease. An emerging pathogen can be defined as a new pathogen arising in the general population of this world because of different processes undergone by the pathogen. Pathogens are emerging in the society because of adaptation, global patterns of travel, increased contact with animals, and vector interactions. Because these pathogens are new in the society it becomes quite difficult to control them and hence they cause specific diseases in the society (Taylor et al 2001). Emerging Pathogens Emerging pathogens are arising because of different reasons in the society. It is believed that these pathogens are emerging because of many socio-economic, environmental and ecological factors. Emerging pathogens have entered the society in which they were previously not known. Because of increased travel pathogens from one area can be travelled to another if a person is acting as a reservoir. Some diseases or pathogens were previously prevalent in small villages and were unknown to the society as a whole but as time has passed by it is seen that these pathogens have entered the arena as a whole. Pathogens are transmitted from animals too and it is seen that animals are more in contact with the human beings now. Previously many diseases were believed to be entering the society from animals such as tuberculosis and HIV. Thus these emerging pathogens are coming in the society from other species (Fine 2006; Daszak 2000). Ecological conditions also matters when it comes to the increase in emerging pathogens. Some areas previously were not cultivated but as they are being cultivated now it is seen that the pathogens are entering the area where these lands are being cultivated. Landscapes are also important through which the pathogens are rising. Different changes in landscapes are causing vectors to arise in those areas and hence the hosts are increasingly being affected. The prevalence of diseases was low in olden times but as these landscapes have changed the number of emerging pathogens have also increased (Taylor 2001). In particular the pandemic potential of H1N1 virus would be emphasized in this essay. Influenza Virus General Overview Influenza belongs to the family of orthomyxovirus which consists of a segmented RNA genome. Influenza is a virus which interacts with the glycoproteins lying on the cell surface. The most lethal influenza affecting the human population is Influenza A virus which causes pandemics of influenza whereas B causes major outbreaks and C causes minor respiratory infections. The pandemics caused by Influenza A virus are less in comparison to the major outbreaks. The last recorded pandemic of Influenza A was in 1968 which killed almost 40,000 individuals in the USA (Levinson 2008; Ramana 2004). Characteristics of Influenza Virus The virus is made up of a segmented RNA genome, a nucleocapsid which is helical and an outer covering of lipoprotein. This envelope of lipoprotein outside the virus has two different proteins namely hemagglutinin and a neuraminidase. Specifically the Influenza A virus has almost 16 types of hemagglutinin along with 9 different types of neuraaminidases. Hemiagglutinin has a specific function of causing infections by binding to the receptors of the cells such as neuarminic acid. Neuraminidase on the other hand has an action of cleaving the neuraminic acid which is affected. This cleaving helps to release virus from the cells which are infected. It also acts on the respiratory cells to make them non-functional. Infleunza A virus has the special capability of changing its structure or antigenicity of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidases and this is the basic reason because of which it is effective enough to cause pandemics. These changes can either result due to mutations in the genome RNA or due to changes in the whole structure of RNA which is also called reassortment (Levinson 2008; Stephen et al 2004). Influenza A virus from animals Influenza A virus is also found in animals because of which it can cause mutations in the viruses from which the humans can be affected. These animal influenza A viruses can enter a human body and can undergo reassortment to create a virus which is harmful to the human beings (Levinson 2008). History of Influenza Pandemics It has been reported that the first epidemic caused by Influenza virus was reported by Hippocrates in 412 BC. The pandemics of 1510 and 1580 followed which were particularly very severe. In the 19th century there were around five pandemics which were reported in the years of 1800-1802, 1830-1833, 1847-1848, 1857-1858 and 1889-1890. In the twentieth century three pandemics have been reported which were caused by H1, H2, and H3 strains. The first one was Spanish Flu which occurred in 1918-1919, the second one was Asian Flu which occurred in 1957-1958 and the third one the Hong Kong Flu occurred in 1968-1969 (CIDRAP 2010). H1N1 Strain of Influenza H1N1 caused an epidemic known as Spanish Flu which is believed to originate from the USA. Around 5 million deaths were reported from the pandemic. It also spread to France and Europe after originating from America. It is believed that the pandemic spread by two waves out of which the latter was the most lethal and spread rapidly. The influenza virus caused secondary bacterial pneumonia and Acute respiratory distress like syndrome out of which it is believed that the bacterial pneumonia was more lethal (Morens et al 2008). The H1N1 strain of 1918 was later re-created by the scientists to find out its virulence and it was found out that the strain was very dangerous as it resulted in the death of mice within three days in which it was injected (Tumpey et al 2005). It was also found out that the strain was not transmitted through animals or engineered through animals but was rather of an avian origin which adapted to the human immunity (Taubenberg & Morens 2006). Although the pandemic caused by 1918 H1N1 strain was of avian origin it also affected the swine at the same time. H1N1 has been known to greatly affect the pigs in many countries all over the world. It is not only H1N1 strain which affects the pigs but also H1N2, H3N1, and H3N2 (Olsen 2002). H1N1 has recently caused an outbreak in the human population in 2009. This virus came to be known as swine flu as the same strain of virus was also found in pigs. It is believed that this recent pandemic occurred due to reassortment in the strain of influenza. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention believes that this was a cause of reassortment as the pigs carry six out of eight genes similar to that of the H1N1 strain in humans. The CDC also believed that the strain underwent different kinds of mutation to cause a resistant virus to emerge in the human beings (CDC 2010). Conclusion The 2009 pandemic affected the whole world and this caused many health organizations to take certain steps when it came to dealing with the influenza virus. The WHO recommends high use of vaccines in countries where strains of influenza are common. It also recommends that the health organizations take a stand to find out about the influenza virus before it creates a pandemic in the society. Patterns of diseases should be noticed by the health organizations along with a research on the current influenza strains persisting in the society. All these steps together can help to make sure that the pandemics caused by the influenza virus are prevented (WHO 2009). References Top of Form World Health Organization. (2009). WHO guidelines for pharmacological management of pandemic (H1N1) 2009: Influenza and other influenza viruses. Geneva: World Health Organization. Bottom of Form Fine, A. E. (2006). The role of indirect transmission in the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis in cattle and white-tailed deer in Michigan. Daszak, P.,Cunningham, A. A.&Hyatt, A. D.Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife — threats to biodiversity and human health. Science 287, 443–449 (2000). Taylor, L. H., Latham, S. M. & Woolhouse, M. E. J. Risk factors for human disease emergence. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 356, 983–989 (2001). Top of Form CIDRAP : Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Pandemic Influenza 2010 < http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/biofacts/panflu.html#_Swine_Influenza_H1N1> Top of Form Morens, D. M., Taubenberger, J. K., & Fauci, A. S. (January 01, 2008). Predominant role of bacterial pneumonia as a cause of death in pandemic influenza: implications for pandemic influenza preparedness. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 198, 7, 962-70. Top of Form Tumpey, T. M., Basler, C. F., Aguilar, P. V., Zeng, H., Solorzano, A., Swayne, D. E., Cox, N. J., ... Garcia-Sastre, A. (January 01, 2005). Characterization of the Reconstructed 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic Virus. Science, 310, 5745, 77. Top of Form Taubenberger, J. K., & Morens, D. M. (January 01, 2006). 1918 Influenza: the mother of all pandemics. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 12, 1, 15-22. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form The 2009 H1N1 Pandemic: Summary Highlights, April 2009-April 2010. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention < http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/cdcresponse.htm> Top of Form Olsen, C. W. (January 01, 2002). The emergence of novel swine influenza viruses in North America. Virus Research,85, 2.) Bottom of Form Brooks, George F., Janet S. Butel, Stephen A. Morse, and Ernest Jawetz. Jawetz, Melnick, & Adelbergs Medical Microbiology. Lange medical book. New York, N.Y.: Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division, 2004. Rao, P.V. Ramana. Essentials of Microbiology. CBS Publisher, 2004. Levinson, Warren. Review of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2008. Bottom of Form Read More