What is a Flu Virus? A flu virus is a specific kind of virus that attacks different species of animals. Viruses are extremely tiny, and they are noted for their ability to change rapidly. That makes them especially dangerous! Far smaller than a bacterium, an influenza virus can actually change its characteristics in each person or animal that it infects. Or, it can also keep the same characteristics from person to person. No one knows when this will occur, and this is what makes an influenza virus so unpredictable.
While it is true that scientists have acquired lots of virus information , it is also true that we definitely don't know all the virus facts that will continue to evolve for years. Chances are that you have been infected by a virus. Common cold symptoms sometimes are confused with flu symptoms, but the cold is a specific kind of virus called a rhinovirus. Most people have had a cold at one time or another. There are other kinds of viruses, and AIDS is another example of a virus. It is caused by the HIV virus.
How Does a New Virus Develop?A virus can't develop into a new form by itself. It uses the genetic “machinery” of another living being to reproduce itself. While most viruses are fairly harmless, the flu virus, or influenza virus, can become deadly!How does this happen? Well, scientists still do not totally agree on this. Some call the process mutation, some call it re-assortment, and others call it a process called recombination. We can let the scientists decide on the “how” of cellular change in a virus. The important part for us to remember is that a virus is a constantly changing form. Here is an example in an article by National Geographic, about how
the rabies virus is rapidly changing in Arizona
When Does a Flu Virus Become Deadly?When a virus contains characteristics that cause a high level of virulence, it becomes deadly. Virulence is the percentage of people who die after being infected by the virus.In order to measure virulence, you need to divide the number of people who became ill by the number who died. The percentage that you get gives you a way to measure how dangerous an influenza virus will be. For example the H5N1 Bird Flu virus has a death rate of 60% to date. If that virus were to become easily transmissible, person to person, it would be a catastrophic event. Hundreds of millions of people would die. So far that hasn't happened! The Swine Flu , on the other hand, appears to have a much lower percentage of deaths . If we can keep the number of infections down, it will not kill nearly as many people as the Avian Flu would. However, if huge numbers of people become ill, even if the virulence levels are relatively low, many could still die—just because of the number of people who became ill. The Spanish Flu Virus of 1918So, just because the flu virus appears to be mild, we should not let our guards down. If you are a student of history, you will remember that the great Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 started in exactly the same fashion as the current Swine Flu.There were mild infections in late spring which targeted healthy adults, and the flu was a mix of bird, human and SWINE flus. In the fall, there was another wave of illness—far more virulent and destructive than anyone could have imagined! You know the rest. Millions of people--worldwide--died during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Didn't find what you were looking for? Try searching for it here: Flu Virus to Pandemic Flu and Emergency Preparedness New! CommentsHave your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below. |
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