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The sequences of the polymerase proteins (PA, PB1, and PB2) of the 1918 virus and subsequent human viruses differ by only 10 amino acids from the avian influenza viruses. Viruses with 7 of the 10 amino acids in the human influenza locations have already been identified in currently circulating H5N1. This has led some researchers to suggest that ...
The project completed its first genomes in March 2005 and has rapidly accelerated since. By mid-2008, over 3000 isolates had been completely sequenced from influenza viruses that are endemic in human ("human flu") avian ("bird flu") and swine ("swine flu") populations, including many strains of H3N2 (human), H1N1 (human), and H5N1 (avian). [1]
In the 1957 "Asian flu" and 1968 "Hong Kong flu" pandemics, flu strains were caused by reassortment between an avian virus and a human virus. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In addition, the H1N1 virus responsible for the 2009 swine flu pandemic has an unusual mix of swine, avian and human influenza genetic sequences.
The findings are based on the analysis of samples collected in Europe during the 1918 pandemic.
Because the human immune system has difficulty recognizing the new influenza strain, it may be highly dangerous, and result in a new pandemic. [3] Influenza viruses which have undergone antigenic shift have caused the Asian Flu pandemic of 1957, the Hong Kong Flu pandemic of 1968, and the Swine Flu scare of 1976.
The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus.
When he compared the 1918 virus with today's human flu viruses, Dr. Taubenberger noticed that it had alterations in just 25 to 30 of the virus's 4,400 amino acids. Those few changes turned a bird virus into a killer that could spread from person to person. [115] In mid-April 2009, an H1N1 variant appeared in Mexico, with its center in Mexico City.
Los Angeles County reported its first case of human H5N1 bird flu infection Monday, as health officials sought to spread public awareness of the threat. L.A. County resident infected by bird flu ...