Influenza Flashcards
In what months does seasonal influenza occur?
Seasonal influenza occurs during winter months:
- Dec to Feb in Northern hemisphere
- Jun to Aug in Southern hemisphere
Why do epidemics of influenza occur every roughly 11 years?
Epidemics occur every 11 years which is thought to be linked to sunspot activity that causing antigenic shifts in viral RNA (mutation)
What kind of virus is influenza?
Is an RNA virus with 8 segment genome:
- Orthomyxoviridae family
- Three main groups
- Influenza A
- Mammals and birds
- Influenza B
- Only humans
- Influenza C
- Only humans
- Influenza A
What are the 3 main groups of influenza and what animals do they infect?
- Influenza A
- Mammals and birds
- Influenza B
- Only humans
- Influenza C
- Only humans
From what family of viruses is influenza from?
- Orthomyxoviridae family
What are the surface proteins of influenza?
- 18 different H antigens (H1-3 in humans)
- Haemagglutinin (H)
- Facilitates viral attachment and entry to host cell
- Haemagglutinin (H)
- 11 different N antigens
- Neuraminidase (N)
- Enables new virion to be released from host cell
- Neuraminidase (N)
What is the function of haemagglutinin?
- Facilitates viral attachment and entry to host cell
What is the function of neuraminidase?
- Enables new virion to be released from host cell
What is antigenic drift?
- Is mechanism of genetic variation within virus
- Occurs continuously over time, small on-going point mutations in genes coding for antibody binding sites
- May change the antigenic properties and eventually immune system will not combat virus well
- Causes worse than normal epidemics and vaccine mismatch
What are consequences of antigenic drift?
- Causes worse than normal epidemics and vaccine mismatch
What is antigenic shift?
- Is abrupt major changes in virus resulting in new H/N combinations
- Enables flu strain to jump from one animal species to another
- Process by which two or more different strains of virus combine to form new subtype, creating new H/N combincations (reassortment)
- With new antigenic properties can lead to pandemics due to population being unprotected
What are consequences of antigenic shift?
- With new antigenic properties can lead to pandemics due to population being unprotected
Compare and contrast seasonal flu and pandemic flu in terms of when it occurs, incidence and severity?
What are pandemic requirements?
- Human pathogenicity
- ‘New’ virus (antigenic shift), creating susceptible population
- Efficient person-person transmission
How can you describe the incidence of pandemics over the year?
Incidence of pandemics is still a wave due to being worse in winter
What is avian flu?
Refers to disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza
Only a few strains affect humans, spreads through direct contact with infected birds that are either dead or alive
What is the clinical presentation of influenza?
- Abrupt fever up to 41oC which lasts 3 days (range 1-5 days)
- Plus 2 or more of
- Cough, myalgia, headache, malaise
- Predominance of systemic symptoms
- Less common symptoms
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea