CSI

Question 1

differences between cold and flu?

Answer 1

cold has more gradual symptoms which are mainly limited to mouth and nose
you also generally feel well enough to do daily activities

Question 2

similarity between cold and flu?

Answer 2

caused by viruses

Question 3

viruses which cause common colds?

Answer 3

most common = rhinovirus
also have coronavirus, adenovirus, RSV, enterovirus, influenza

Question 4

which virus causes flu?

Answer 4

influenza

Question 5

risk factors for freshers’ flu?

Answer 5

-poor nutrition
-stress
-lack of sleep
-close contact

Question 6

risk factors for such viruses in the general public?

Answer 6

-lifestyle choices e.g. smoking
-comorbidities
-close contact
-BMI
-age

Question 7

what are Zola’s triggers?

Answer 7

an event which makes someone more likely to go to a doctor
these are:
interpersonal crisis
interference with personal/social relations
sanctioning
interference with vocation
temporalising (e.g. if symptoms don’t get better within a week, I’ll see a doctor)

Question 8

mechanism of influenza?

Answer 8

influenza has two proteins (haemagluttinin and neuraminidase)
haemagluttinin binds to sialic acid receptors on host cell
this allows virus to enter via endocytosis
virus then releases genetic info in form of RNA
it then uses cell to create copies of viral proteins which allow assembly of virus
virus then leaves host cell
neuraminidase cleaves sialic acid, haemagluttinin is removed and the virus can go and infect other cells

sialic acid receptors are usually found in epithelium cells in lower respiratory tract

Question 9

mechanism of coronaviruses?

Answer 9

ACE-2 receptors prevent excessive angiotensin activation
spike proteins from SARS-COV-2 binds to ACE-2 receptors, which causes excessive angiotensin activation

Question 10

how are strains of influenza labelled?

Answer 10

by type of proteins e.g. H1N1

Question 11

what is antigenic drift?

Answer 11

gradual change in viruses’ genetic material due to mutations
= reason why we need new vaccines every year

Question 12

antigenic shift?

Answer 12

this is a more abrupt change and only affects influenza A
humans can only be infected by some strains of the virus but animals like pigs can be affected by both strains,
these can combine to make new strains with completely different genetic makeups and can lead to pandemics