The Flu Virus
Pennie Latin discovers why flu is a worldwide problem - difficult to combat, much less eradicate. Plus she finds out if there is a definitive answer to the question of man flu.
From 1918-1919 it was the cause of more deaths globally than the first world war. It's estimated that 50 million people died.
It struck again in 1957 taking over 60,000 more lives. And again in 1968 and again in 2009...and it's still out there, waiting, mutating, hunting for its next victim...that could be you. It's the flu.
In this episode of Brainwaves Pennie Latin looks down the microscope at the flu virus to discover why it is such a worldwide problem and seemingly so difficult to combat, never mind eradicate once and for all.
You can be involved in helping to combat flu because citizen science and social media are now being used to track the incidence of flu symptoms around the country, enabling scientists to discover more about the transmission of the virus.
And Pennie will seek to find the definitive answer to the highly controversial question; 'Does man flu actually exist?'.
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Influenza Virus Haemagglutinin
Illustration of the structure of Influenza Haemagglutinin against a backdrop showing a model of the influenza virus particle.
Influenza Viruses have two types of protein on their surface that are critical to the viruses replication strategy. The first, called Haemagglutinin is involved in attachment and cell entry, while the second, called Neuraminidase helps the newly created virus particles leave the infected cell.Β
This image shows the shape of the Haemagglutinin molecule. Immunity to Influenza Virus particularly targets the two surface proteins. To evade this immune response viruses have evolved differently shaped Haemagglutinins and Neuraminidases, scientists have given these different numbers.Β
Different species of Influenza are named according to the types of proteins on their surface e.g. H1N2. Pandemics (World-wide epidemics) occur when a new species emerges that human immune systems have never encountered before. The seasonal nature of Influenza outbreaks is the result of more subtle changes to these proteins.
Image Credit
Haemagglutinin structure:Β Molecular Machines /
David Bhella MRC University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research
Broadcasts
- Tue 19 Jan 2016 13:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Scotland
- Sun 24 Jan 2016 07:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Scotland
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Brainwaves
Pennie Latin explores the science behind the everyday.
