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HEWLETT-PACKARD
SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:
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Avian flu
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What is a
V O L U M E
I S S U E
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Tips to avoid
In early April 2013 the World Health Organization reported the first outbreak of a new avian influenza A
virus (H7N9) in China. There were 130 confirmed cases in humans and 44 people had died. Those 44 patients had documented symptoms of severe respiratory illness which
ultimately lead to their death. Most of the confirmed cases have reported that they were in contact with poultry, which many believe is the source of H7N9. There have been no confirmed cases in China since the initial outbreak in April.
the flue
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1 ,
Avian Flue Outbreak
virus
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The Flue
How to tell
between virus
and bacteria
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Prevention and
2
Vaccination
What is a Virus? 3
Virus vs.
3
Bacteria
Avian flu cont.
4
How viruses
4
spread
Micro Profile
5
Sources
6
The decrease in confirmed cases should not be pushed aside. Many believe that the H7N9 virus
has a seasonal pattern and has a chance to infect more humans once the weather turns cold
again. One cause for concern would be that the H7N9 virus does not kill the avian host and that
makes tracking the virus difficult. The H7N9 virus could infect migratory birds and they could in
turn infect the humans they come into contact with around the world. Many of the studies on
the H7N9 virus have been limited to the poultry markets where humans came into contact with
the infected birds. Experts believe that the poultry markets play a key role in the amplification of
the virus and any migratory bird that visits these places has a good chance of becoming infected.
Chinese authorities are urging its citizens to avoid live poultry markets since many of the birds
have shown that they carry the H7N9 virus.
In the documented cases of the H7N9 virus, the patients’ family members were followed to determine if the virus has developed human-human transmission. At the conclusion of this study,
officials determined that the virus has not acquired the ability to transmit between humans. Although the news that the H7N9 virus is not yet transmissible between humans is reassuring, you
have to remember that the virus is in its primary stage of infection.
Throughout the history of avian influenza viruses, poultry infections and close human contact
with these birds has resulted in outbreaks. The H5N1 virus (aka bird flu) was an outbreak in Asia
from 2006-2007 where the virus spread rapidly between avian hosts. The birds that came into
contact with an infected bird’s blood, feces, saliva became infected themselves. Once humans
came into contact with these infected birds it resulted in 263 confirmed deaths. Although there
was limited human-human transmission the outbreak still had the potential to cause more illnesses if the H5N1 virus possessed a gene that provided efficient transmission between humans.
Questions?
Can I be infected?
How many people does the flu infect each year?
How do I prevent the flu?
Answers!
The flu can affect one in five people if no
precautions are taken. Getting vaccinated
is the best precaution a person can do to
prevent the flu. It is especially important
for people who already have weak immune systems, diabetes, asthma, or heart
diseases. With proper care and precautions such as getting vaccinated, building a
germ barrier and keeping good personal
hygiene, the possibility of getting the flu
goes significantly down.
cinated yet. There
are two types of
vaccines available:
the flu shot, and a nasal spray called
FluMist. The vaccines are developed on
the expected flu strains each season including the H1N1 swine flu.
The flu virus is very contagious
from person to person. It is important to
be cautious around possible sick people.
The virus can be picked up from direct
contact with or person or even touching
the same object and infecting one’s self.
To help prevent the transfer of the virus,
there are a number of things you can do.
All people six months of age and older
Obtaining proper hygiene will greatly
should be vaccinated as soon as the vacreduce the possible infection
cine is available. Vaccine shots are priTake care to wash your hands fremarily given in the fall, but winter is also a
quently and especially after pospossibility if the person has not been vacsibly touching a contaminated
surface
Carrying hand sanitizer or alcohol
based wipes
Take caution when sharing (especially
utensils, glasses, or other objects
that may touch your mouth)
It is also important to keep your immune
system at its best. Here are a few tips
Eat a healthy diet
Exercise routinely
Get a proper nights sleep (7 to 9
hours)
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ReverseGeneticsFlu.svg
P AGE
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What is a Virus?
http://www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/aboutmicrobiology/introducing-microbes/viruses
Viruses are so
small that 500
million
A virus is a very small infectious agent that can infect
all types of life form.
They can infect human,
animals, plants, and
even bacteria. A virus
that can infect bacteria
are called bacteriophages. Viruses account for nearly 90%
of infections in humans! Keep in mind
though that an infection is
different from a disease.
can fit on the head
of a pin!
fect other cells. Or the virus
will integrate its DNA or RNA
with the host cell’s DNA and let
the cell naturally divide thus
creating two cells that are infected. These two processes or
phases are called the lytic phase
and lysogenic phase respectively. A common misconception
people get is that viruses and
bacteria are the same when in
fact there are many differences.
The many differences are their
size, structure, reproduction,
and treatment.
Virus vs. Bacteria
Differences Between Viruses and Bacteria
rhinoviruses
(common cold)
An infection is when a foreign substance enters the
body and is able to reproduce but does not make
you sick while a disease is
when you get sick. In order for a virus to multiple,
it needs to invade a host
cell. Once inside a host
cell, one of two things can
happen. The virus will either multiply a bunch of
times until the cell bursts
and the free viruses go in-
Virus
Bacteria
Very small (20-750nm)
Small (1000nm)
Cannot be viewed under a light microscope
Some can be seen without a microscope
Needs a host cell to reproduce and survive
Reproduce by binary fission
Treated by anti-virals
Treated by antibiotics
Either has DNA or RNA
Has both DNA and RNA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria
T HE
FLUE
http://
www.armageddononline.org/
viruses.html
V OLUME
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ISSUE
1
P AGE
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Avian Flu cont.
Birds are often breeding
grounds for a large variety of
viruses. They can carry numerous amounts of lethal viruses
that can infect humans if the
come into close contact with
them. But virus transmission
between bird-human always
stops there. Birds are often
carriers of the human influenza
virus and we know that this
virus can spread very easily
between humans. If an avian
host carried the H7N9, human
influenza, and another potentially lethal virus it could change
the outcome of the H7N9 virus.
Influenza A viruses are a genus
in the family of Orthomyxoviridae virus. These type A viruses
are RNA viruses and are potentially the most lethal to humans. The type A viruses can
gain their virulence by reassortment of genes in the avian host.
If an avian host contains at least
two different influenza viruses,
the RNA of both these viruses
are copied in the nucleus of the
host. In the nucleus there are
virus particles assembled that
contain specific genes from
each of the influenza viruses
thus undergoing reassortment.
For example: Let’s say an avian
host contains both the H7N9
and the human influenza virus.
Both of these viruses are packaged into the nucleus, undergo
reassortment, and produce
new virus particles containing
genes from both viruses. The
new virus particles could contain one gene from the H7N9
virus that produces the lethal
symptoms when humans are
infected. The other gene can
come from the human influenza virus that provides easy
transmission between humans
and the ability to survive in a
human host. These new virus
particles now contain key
attributes that could cause a
potential outbreak in humans.
If a human comes into close
contact with an infected bird
and retains the virus; the human can now infect anybody
that they come into close contact with. The cycle of infection
will continue until an active
How Viruses Spread
It is extremely easy to catch a virus.
Ways to catch a virus are through
the air when someone has coughed
or sneezed, touching an infected,
ingesting contaminated food, sharing infected needles, exchanging
body fluids, and the list goes on.
One very contagious virus is the
influenza virus or known as the flu.
measure comes into place to limit the
spread of the new H7N9 virus.
http://
www.medicalnewstod
ay.com/
articles/5556.php
The mixing of genes in an animal host
is not new to scientists. In 2009, a new
virus emerged around the world called
H1N1 (swine flu). This virus contained
genes from avian, swine, and human
viruses that underwent reassortment
and infected a portion of the population. The CDC estimated that in 2009
there were 61 million cases of H1N1
worldwide that resulted in approximately 12,500 deaths.
Using the H1N1 virus outbreak as a
template it would not be uncommon
for the H7N9 virus to have a potential
outbreak during the upcoming flu season. A variety of factors still need to
occur for H7N9 to be transmissible
between humans but if history is any
indicator we are one unlucky break
from dealing with a potential outbreak.
developed
and 5
to 7 days after becoming sick.
This is how the flu is contagious because you can infected other before you even
know you have it.
It can be spread by two people
standing 6 feet away! Experts think
that the flu is mainly spread by
droplets from sick people that have
coughed, sneezed, or talked. People who are infected by the flu can
start infecting other people 1
http://nanobiotechnews.com/the-viruses-spread-faster-thanday before symptoms even
we-thought.html
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/89989941/Virus-vs-Bacteria--Feeling-Sick
Microbiology Profile: Eugene Barry
(1977) and also his masters
in Veterinary Microbiology
(1979). From there he went
on to get his Ph.D. in Biology from Northeastern University in 1983. Then he
came to NDSU. Here he
teaches classes like Virology, Immunology, and other
microbiological courses.
Eugene Barry is an associate His researching interests
professor here at NDSU. His are in Animal virology. Last
education started at Washhe is the Director of the
ington State University were VMS Graduate Programs
he got his B.S. in Zoology
and also an advisor for Bio-
technology undergraduates.
When I asked him about
the flu vaccine he said,
“Always get the vaccine.”
He also said that there are
no risks in getting the
vaccine and a lot of benefits.
Resources
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/virusbacteria.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/spread.htm
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/influenza/avoid-catching-flu-viral-illnesses.aspx
http://www.contac.com/cold-flu-hq/avoiding-a-cold-or-flu
Avian Influenza A (H7N9) Virus." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
Hui, Lu. "Experts: Be Alert of H7N9 amid Flu Seasons." - Xinhua. China Daily, 26 Sept. 2013.
Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
Ungchusak, K. "Probable Person-to-person Transmission of Avian Influenza A." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 24 Jan. 2005. Web.
11 Oct. 2013.
Racaniello, V. "Reassortment of the Influenza Virus Genome." Virology Blog RSS. N.p., 29 June
2009. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
Updated CDC Estimates of 2009 H1N1 Influenza Cases, Hospitalizations and Deaths in the
United States, April 2009 – April 10, 2010." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 May 2010. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
N, A. "OIE Expert Mission Finds Live Bird Markets Play a Key Role in Poultry and Human Infections with Influenza A(H7N9) : OIE - World Organisation for Animal Health." OIE Expert
Mission Finds Live Bird Markets Play a Key Role in Poultry and Human Infections with Influenza A(H7N9) : OIE - World Organisation for Animal Health. OIE, 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 11
Oct. 2013.