Cautious With H1N1 Virus

Today's about being cautious with virus H1N1.

In the fall of 1917, a new strain of influenza in circles around the world. At first, the typical flu-like wabak: Sebahagian great force of death among the elderly, while young people recover quickly. However, in the summer of 1918, the version of the deadly virus that has broken out, with disastrous consequences. In total, the pandemic has killed at least 50 million people - about 3 peratus than the world population at that time.

Such unlicensed two waves is typical of the pandemic influenza virus, which is why many scientists are reluctant influenza virus H1N1 in 2009 without a license (the "pig") can be transformed into a deadly form.

H1N1 has been reported on a Mac 2009 in Mexico, contain the right mix of human and pig genes of avian influenza, which encourages doubt that free can be deadlier than a typical flu season. However, the death toll is much lower than dikhuatiri, virus turned into a great Keran sebahagian cekap relatively spread from person to person.

In a new MIT study, the researchers mengenalpasti single genetic mutation of the H1N1 virus that allow you to be much more easily contagious among humans. The discovery, reported in the second edition of the journal Mac Public Library of Science (PLoS) One, it must provide Pertubuhan Kesihatan World, which traces the evolution of influenza, something to watch, "says Ram Sasisekharan, senior author of the paper.

“There is a constant need to monitor the evolution of these viruses,” says Sasisekharan, the Edward Hood Taplin Professor and director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Some new H1N1 strains have already emerged, and the key question, Sasisekharan adds, is whether those strains will have greater ability to infect humans.

WHO labs around the world are collecting samples of human and avian flu strains, whose DNA is sequenced and analyzed for potential significant mutations. However, it’s difficult, with current technology, to predict how a particular DNA sequence change will alter the structure of influenza proteins, including hemagglutinin (HA), which binds to receptors displayed by cells in the human respiratory tract. Now that this specific HA mutation has been identified as a potentially dangerous one, the WHO should be able to immediately flag any viruses with that mutation, if they appear.

Identifying this mutation is an important step because it is usually very difficult to identify which of the many possible mutations of the HA protein will have any impact on human health, says Qinghua Wang, assistant professor of biochemistry at Baylor College of Medicine. “These are exactly the types of mutations that we need to watch out for in order to safeguard humans from future disastrous flu pandemics,” he says.

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