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Short notes on influenza vaccine
Viral infection influenza vaccine
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Influenza viruses are constantly evolving due to the mechanism of antigenic drift. This results in seasonal vaccination to target only specific strains, which puts us in a race against the clock in the prevention of the next pandemic. One key to solving this is the development of a universal influenza vaccine, which would elicit a broad antibody response. This would target either multiple strains or strains from the past, present, and future in a single vaccination. As vaccine may target sites such as the neuraminidase (NA) or the M2 Ion channel, hemagglutinin (HA) is preferred by most approaches due to the consensus amino acids found throughout the different subtype, specifically the stem region (3). However, there are boundaries to the stem approach, such as, that some antibodies have reduced affinity for the stem region (1).
Summary
Hemagglutinin (HA) is an antigenic receptor-binding glycoprotein found on the surface of the influenza viruses. Its molecular structure has been classified as a homotrimer with each monomer being the precursors to HA1, head region, and HA2, stem region. The stem region, which contains conserved proteins common among other influenza pandemic strains, are currently being explored for vaccination opportunities, along with the variable head region where antibodies target and bind to elicit immune
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In focus of specifically the H5N1 subtype, the results confirmed that COBRA-vaccinated animals showed equal or better results - i.e., the HAI titers was higher and drawn out a much extensive level of binding antibodies (4). A stem-based approach seemed more feasible, with it being a more stable, conserved target, however, stem epitopes are less accessible compared to the HA head epitopes
...Evaluation and comparison of Hela, Hep2C and Vero cell lines sensitivity to polio vaccinal virus using micro and macro vaccine potency tests. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from http://www.archrazi.com/browse.php?a_id=319&sid=1&slc_lang=en
However due to globalization, import and export viruses is more easily transmitted. Over the past century the global community especially Asian has been affected with new strains of the influenza virus. The changes in the virus can occur in two ways “antigenic drift” which are gradual changes in the virus over time. This change produces new strains that the antibody may not recognize. “Antigenic shift” On the other is a sudden change in the influenza virus which ‘’ results in a new influenza A subtype or a virus with a hemagglutinin or a hemagglutinin and neuraminidase combination that has emerged from an animal population,” as seen with H5N1 virus. This change leaves people defenseless against this new virus. (CDC, 2013) Currently there is no vaccine to combat all strains therefore “Planning and preparedness for implementing mitigation strategies during a pandemic requires participation by all levels o...
Current influenza vaccines are about 70% to 90% effective in preventing influenza in healthy adults. Since the vaccines are made of dead fragments of influenza viruses, they cannot cause influenza. The strains of influenza that circulate change every year and therefore, it is necessary to make a new influenza vaccine annually. After vaccination, the body's immune system produces antib... ... middle of paper ... ...
Loo, Yueh-Ming and Michael Gale, Jr. “Influenza: Fatal Immunity and the 1918 Virus.” Nature 445 (2007): 267-268. 23 July. 2008 .
Koprowski, H. (2009), Rabies in the Face of the 21st Century. Zoonoses and Public Health,
Kimball, Dr. John. A.S.A. “Influenza.” 8 Feb. 2007. Kimball’s Biology Page. 23 July 2007 http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/I/Influenza.html>.
Influenza is a major public health problem which outbreaks all over the world. Resulting in considerable sickness and death rates. Furthermore, it is a highly infectious airborne disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is transmitted easily from one person to another person which has a great impact on society. When a member of society becomes sick, it is more prone to spread to other people. In the United States, every year between 5 to 20 percent of the population is affected by influenza. As a result of this, between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths have occurred per year (Biggerstaff et al., 2014). Therefore, the influenza vaccine is the most effective strategy to prevent influenza. This essay will examine two significant reasons for influenza vaccination which are the loss of workforce and economic burden as well as one effect regarding herd immunity.
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between twenty and forty million people. (1) Influenza is a virus that appeared in 1918 and caused a pandemic. It made an enormous impact that is still significant to the world today. It has pushed scientists to make advancements in the medicine and vaccination industry that continue to grow each and every day. Influenza may be a horrible thing, but without it we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Jonas Salk, a virologist at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP), used inactivated viruses (virus particles grown in culture and then killed by a form of heat) to create a polio vaccine. Salk drew blood from about two million children, which the NFIP checked for immunization. Through the collection of many HeLa cells and trial and error, the polio vaccine was ready in a year.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Reid, A. (1999). Origin and evolution of the 1918 Spanish influenza virus hemagglutinin gene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 96, 1651-1656.
“Selecting the Viruses in the Seasonal Influenza (Flu) Vaccine.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USA.gov, 9 March 2011. Web. 19 Jan. 2010
Updated Interim CDC Guidance for Use of Smallpox Vaccine, Cidofovir, and Vaccinia Immune Globulin (VIG) for Prevention and Treatment in the Setting of an Outbreak of Monkeypox Infections.” 25 June 2013. Center for Disease Control 20 Nov. 2014.
Currently, one cannot explore the news without coming across the topic of the swine flu, scientifically known as H1N1. Swine flu is a respiratory infection derived from the influenza virus. The virus contains genetic materials from human, swine, and avian flu viruses. It was first identified in spring 2009, and since then has spread rapidly across the globe. The infection’s spread has been verified as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. As soon as the swine flu virus was isolated, scientists quickly developed a swine flu vaccine. Four vaccines have been approved by the FDA for the prevention of the swine flu. The vaccines will be ready for distribution in October 2009. Now the question is: To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate? Millions of people are now preparing to answer this question.
The swine influenza or swine flu is a respiratory disease in pigs that is caused by the type A influenza viruses. These viruses are referred to as swine flu viruses but scientifically the main virus is called the swine triple reassortant (tr) H1N1 influenza virus. When the viruses infect humans they are called variant viruses. This infection has been caused in humans mainly by the H1N1v virus in the United States. The H1N1 virus originates in animals due to improper conditions and the food they ingest. The virus stays in latency form, thus harmless to the respective animal. The longer the animals survive the more likely the virus is to develop and strengthen making it immune to vaccines. The virus reproduced through the lytic cycle. The virus injects its own nucleic acids into a host cell and then they form a circle in the center of the cell. Rather than copying its own nucleic acids, the cell will copy the viral acids. The copies of viral acids then organize themselves as viruses inside of the cell. The membrane will eventually split leaving the viruses free to infect other cells.
In 1918-19 approximately 50 million deaths were a detriment of the Spanish H1N1 virus pandemic; a respiratory virus. According to the World Health Organization, the second Influenza A H1N1 pandemic in 2009 spread to more than 200 countries causing more than 18 000 deaths. Before the World Health Organization had announced the official end of the pandemic in August 2010, in July 2009 the World Health Organization sent out a phase 6 warning that H1N1 could soon be a global pandemic. It is important to recognize that the 2 different outbreaks had different A/H1N1strains effecting the world population; this suggests A/H1N1has a high ability for mutation, severely complicating the human body’s natural immune mechanism of antigenic drift. (Qi-Shi Du et al., 2010)