1. Swine Flu

2. History First isolated in North America in 2009 Mortality rate was lower than other pandemics First pandemic of the 21 st Century

3.  Causes infects of the upper respiratory tract that lead to typical flu symptoms coughing, sneezing, headaches, etc  Exposes host to secondary infection, pneumonia for example

4.  Hemagglutinin (HA): Thought to identify cells for infection, (16 types H1-H16)  Neuraminidase (NA): Thought to be responsible for infection of cells through mucous membranes (9 types N1-N9)  H1, H2, H3, N1, and N2 are the proteins that most commonly affect humans.

5.  Viruses such as H1N1 (swine flu) is more transmissible than H5N1 (avian flu). H1N1 is more likely to infect humans but with lesser mortality rate. H5N1 while able to affect humans is less transmissible but has a greater mortality rate.  1918 H1N1 killed more than 50 million, approximately 40 million infected by HIV

6.  1997 a flu was discovered in pigs that was mostly human in origin.  1998 another version was found that was human, avian and swine in combination.  A 3 species flu is a triple reassortant, the 2009 swine flu was a triple reassortant.  The ability to quickly change species is a cause for great worry among institutions like the Center for Disease Control (CDC)

7.  A study done in Germany confirmed that it is possible to reduce transmission of the flu by use of a facemask and greater attention to hygiene  Cover your mouth and wash your hands.

8.  Campbell and Farrell: Biochemistry, 7 th Edition. China: Brooks/Cole; 2012, 400-401.  Rhim et al.: Pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus infection in children and adults: A cohort study at a single hospital throughout the epidemic. International Archives of Medicine, 2012, 5: 13-30.  Suess et al.: The role of facemasks and hand hygiene in the prevention of influenza transmission in households: results from a cluster randomized trial; Berlin, Germany, 2009-2011. BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:26.