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It is usually referred to as a mutation, in the most simple language. It happens in slightly different ways with different virus types with different specific terms assigned to each of those ways. But the most common terms are: mutation, reassortant, evolution, recombination, and reassortment.

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Q: The change that causes the viral strains in influenza to change are called what?
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What is the difference between H1N1 H1N2 H3N2 and H3N1 viruses?

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Why doesnt vaccination against influenza guarantee lifetime immunity to the flu?

Good question. The reason is that the virus that causes the flu is constantly mutating and changing. So the vaccine that is used this season is based on what the virus looked like at the time it was manufactured. But the virus is clever and it learns how to change, so that's why we gotta keep changing the vaccine each season.


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