More recently came a new influenza or flu which brought new dangers to our health. It is very important that we know about what swine influenza or swine flu so we can recognize its causes, symptoms, how it spreads and we can act quickly and avoid contracting it.

What is influenza H1N1?

• The H1N1 flu is a new influenza virus that is sickening people. This has two genes of influenza viruses that usually circulate among pigs in Europe and Asia, and avian genes, and human genes. Scientists call this virus “quadruple rearranged.

• The H1N1 flu is contagious. This new virus was first detected in the United States in April 2009. The spread of the virus among humans is the same way that common viruses spread of seasonal flu.

• The H1N1 flu is not contracted by eating pork or pork products. The H1N1 flu is not a food borne illness is a respiratory illness. The Department of Agriculture United States is reminding consumers that all meat products and poultry derivatives are safe and healthy when they are prepared and properly cooked.

• Diseases caused by new influenza H1N1 virus range from mild to severe. Although most people who have contracted the H1N1 flu has recovered without medical treatment, there have been cases of hospitalizations and deaths.

• Approximately 70% of people hospitalized because of influenza H1N1 had other medical conditions that placed in the category of “high risk” of developing serious complications related to seasonal flu. These conditions include pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease.

• Adults over 65 will have priority to receive antiviral treatment in order to decrease risks of complications in case of the flu. While his age indicates that there is less chance of getting the flu, there are certain risk conditions (COPD, diabetes, etc.). That in case of illness, suggests that it may be at higher risk for complications from any type of influenza.

Symptoms of avian H1N1

• The H1N1 flu symptoms are similar to those of seasonal flu but may include additional symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.

• Symptoms of seasonal flu include:

Fever
Cough and / or sore throat
or runny nose or nasal congestion
or headaches and / or body
or chills
or fatigue

• The H1N1 flu symptoms include:
or are similar to seasonal flu but may be more severe.
or additional symptoms may occur. A significant number of cases of H1N1 flu include vomiting and diarrhea.

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• Immunity Against the H1N1
  One of the mysteries to be solved since the emergence of new H1N1 virus was whether those who had already suffered a flu throughout their lives were immunized against this pathogen. After much deba...

After much debate, a team of researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (USA) has found the answer. Their research indicates H1N1 has similarities with some of the influenza viruses that have circulated over the past 20 years, so that those who have spent any flu are partly protected.

There are two types of immunity that allow the body to remember past flu and provide protection against other similar: antibodies and T cells (cells of the immune system defenses.) Antibodies can prevent infection because they destroy the virus before that enter the cells and multiply. The T-cells detect the virus once it has infected the cell, then eliminate it, not prevent infection but it makes it more light.

After comparing the molecular structure of the novel H1N1 influenza virus that humans have been among the last decades (since 1988), researchers have found that despite its many features, the head of the influenza A virus has similarities above.

Specifically, found that T cells recognize up to 69% of the markers of H1N1. Therefore, the severity of the pandemic has not been lower than expected at first. The course of the disease is being generally rather mild because these cells know how to fight the pathogen. By contrast, the antibodies do not recognize more that 17% of the molecules of the new virus and hence the transmission is still very high, because those in charge of detecting time they do.

To reach this finding, the La Jolla team compared the molecular markers of influenza A virus with molecular markers of past flu viruses, which are contained in the Immune Epitope Database, one of the largest databases in the world on the immune response to infections.

Until now it was said that only those who lived through the influenza of 1957 (the most similar to the present) could be protected. However, Bjoern Peters states that all those who have passed the flu, whatever, have some immunity. What happens is that those born before 1957 have extra protection and, therefore, were not influenza A is affecting as much as the younger.

The finding explains why the infection is not being as serious as feared. But nevertheless, the recommendation of vaccination is kept because it is the vaccine that will induce an antibody response that can help eliminate infections, which the body’s memory alone can not achieve.

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