Cold and Flu

No. Viruses are not living things, so they do not have an immune system. In a way, however, they can protect themselves from us by mutating their own form so that our immune system can not recognize them any more. Until our bodies learn again that they are a foreign invader in our cells and then create new cells that can destroy the new mutation of the virus, it does have a chance to safely be in our bodies. While in our cells, a virus makes our cells do its main function (which is replication of itself). The mutation that it does by changing the make up of the proteins on its capsid (outer shell) allows it to bypass our immune systems temporarily.

The whole purpose of a virus is to replicate itself, it has no other function. To replicate, it must be able to invade and enter, or attach itself to a host cell from a living organism, like a plant, animal or human. Once attached, it can insert the DNA or RNA that it carries to bind with the cell's DNA and instruct the cell to stop what it normally does and begin to reproduce the virus instead.

The protein coat on the capsid ("shell") of the virus holds the specific proteins that the virus uses to be able to bind with or attach to the host's cell. For example with the A-H1N1/09 Pandemic Swine Flu, the proteins are the Hemagglutinin type (H) and Neuraminidase type (N). The Hemagglutinin aids in the attachment to the host cell for the invasion, the Neuraminidase works to open the host cell to release the newly created virus particles once they are developed. There are about 14 H types and 9 N types, and an influenza strain can have any combination of those. However most human flu strains are in the H 1, 2, or 3 types and N 1, and 2. Other animals have viruses that use more of the protein types such as avian (bird) flu, which is H5N1.

Our immune systems create antibodies that search for foreign invaders and they can use these proteins to identify the virus as foreign. The immune system will then create cells able to destroy the virus. These surface proteins are also mutated by some viruses to make them unidentifiable by the antibodies, and that is what can create a new strain of influenza.

Vaccines need to exactly match the virus to be able to cause our bodies to become immune to that particular strain. So if the virus mutates to have a different structure of surface proteins, the epidemiologists and virologists work with the vaccine producers to create a new vaccine to match the new version of the virus. Each year, these groups study what forms of viruses are circulating world wide and determine what strains need to be included in the vaccine for that year to protect against what is spreading. The Northern Hemisphere uses information from what is being collected during the flu season in the Southern Hemisphere to predict what will move to the Northern Hemisphere in the following flu season up there.

The statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that those most likely to catch the A-H1N1/09 Pandemic Influenza are young and healthy. The most cases were among those aged from infants to age 24.

Those who had complications requiring hospitalization were comprised more of those age 0 to 4 by twice as many hospitalizations as those age 5 to 24. That group of ages 5 to 24 was just under twice as likely to be hospitalized as the next group of age 50 to 64.

Of those hospitalized, a majority had underlying medical conditions or were pregnant women which made them more vulnerable. For example, 8% of Americans have asthma, but 32% of patients hospitalized with A-H1N1/09 were asthmatics. (See the related question below for a list of the high risk groups)

The group with the most deaths was the group of people age 25 to 49 with 41% of the deaths, next was the group of 50 to 64 year olds who comprised 25% of those who died. Although they are among the most common to contract the disease, only 16% of the cases aged 5 to 24 were among those who died. With the seasonal flu, those who are most vulnerable to die are people 65 and older who typically represent 90% of the total seasonal flu deaths. With the A-H1N1/09 Pandemic flu, the people age 65 and older are much less likely to contract the disease and only around 9% die. Age group 0-4 comprise only 2% of the deaths.

In many cases, a doctor shouldn't give you medication for a viral disease because the medications are not effective in treating viral diseases. Giving out antibiotics or other medications that are not effective against the disease you have contributes to antibiotic resistence and failure of treatment.

It uses the energy of a host cell, in a sort of parasitic way.

A virus is non-living, although it is a well structured organism able to reproduce and cause things to happen. To do these things, it does not generate or use its own power or energy. Instead, it invades a living host (a plant, animal or human) and attaches a virus particle into a cell and makes that living cell of the host to which it has attached change its operations from working for the host to working for the virus.

The cell begins to create duplicates of the virus particles. It does this because once the virus has attached itself, it adds part of its own DNA or RNA instructions into the cell which turns the cell into a virus-making factory. The cell's original DNA is no longer giving the instructions to the cell and so it is no longer doing what it is supposed to for the host and eventually dies when it bursts open to release the virus "babies".

This is what makes us get sick if enough of our cells are pulled off their usual jobs by the virus and made to do other things and then die. All the energy that is needed to reproduce the virus is supplied by the host cell, and as it produces new virus particles those "offspring" attach to more cells and the process repeats cell by cell particle by particle as it moves through our bodies and attaches to more cells. Eventually (hopefully) our body's immune system learns the key to turning the virus off (or "killing" it). If too many of our cells are diverted before the immune system figures out how to attack the virus to stop it, then we can have organ and system failures and that is how we get very ill or even die.

I'm unable to display diagrams as I can only provide text-based responses. However, you can easily find detailed diagrams of the H1N1 virus structure by searching online or in scientific research articles for visual representations.

An N95 or similar mask will filter viruses (H1N1 included) But its not the micron filtration size that needs to be focused on, its the proper fit of the mask. Leaks from improper fit and deep breaths will severely limit the effectiveness of simple filter masks. The other consideration is behavior while masked. Wiping the eyes, picking your teeth under the mask, etc.

The A and B in influenza are simply different types of influenza.

* Type A: seasonal epidemics. This sub-type is based on changes in surface antigens hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. In humans subtypes H1-H3 and N1-N2 have circulated since 1918 pandemic (due to H1N1). In the last 3 decades the circulating types have been H3N2 and H1N1.

* Type B: sporadic outbreaks (long term care facilities)

Heat can kill flu or cold bacteria. However, the heat has to be high enough. Different viruses and bacteria have different heat tolerances. Some can survive temperatures of over 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

The virus has DNA as its genetic material. More interesting, the DNA is single-stranded.

"Parvo" is short for "parvovirus" and usually "canine parvovirus type 2."

The common cold is caused by a viral infection, particularly by the rhinovirus and coronavirus. These viruses do not have a specific chemical formula, as they are composed of genetic material wrapped in a protein coat.

The tolerance of human swine influenza is higher and less serious in terms of danger to health than global warming. Global warming is the increase in the avergae temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation.

Swine influenza affects a vast population of the humans and clearly does not have any relation to global warming as yet.

aspirated through the upper respiratory tract. Meaning you breath it in. It can also be transmitted by touching a contaminated surface and then touching the nose or eyes, but not through ingestation i.e. eating it

A quadruple reassortant is a type of influenza virus that has genetic material from four different sources. These viruses are typically found in pigs and can potentially infect humans. Quadruple reassortants are a concern for public health because they have the ability to evolve and potentially cause pandemics.

Generation time has been used synonymously with the term "serial interval." Serial interval is the time from the onset of symptoms in the index case until the onset of symptoms in any secondary cases. For human seasonal influenza, the mean serial interval has been estimated as 3.6 days (95% confidence interval = 2.9-4.3 days) (Cowling BJ et al, Estimation of the Serial Interval of Influenza, Epidemiology 2009; 20(3): 344-7.

The flu (influenza), is caused by influenza viruses. There are three types of influenza viruses, designated Type A, B, and C. Types A and B are common types of seasonal flu in humans, while C is less frequent in humans. Influenza A is the type of flu virus which gives rise to all worldwide pandemics seen every once in a while, such as 'Spanish flu' after the First World War and 'Swine flu' H1N1/09 which we've seen recently.

Some scientists technically do not characterize viruses as living micro-organisms because they are actually sub-microscopic and do not carry out the full range of processes which define a living organism. The study of viruses (virology) is commonly categorized under microbiology (the study of micro-organisms) which can be confusing. They are completely dependent on a living host in order to replicate since they are not technically "alive" and do not have the materials and processes to do their own reproduction.

White blood cells fight swine flu by recognizing the virus as foreign and launching an immune response. Some white blood cells produce antibodies that bind to the virus and target it for destruction, while others directly attack and kill infected cells. This coordinated effort helps to eliminate the virus from the body and prevent further infection.

1. Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs.
2. The flu virus can mutate rapidly, leading to seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics that can spread globally.
3. Symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Vaccination is the best way to prevent seasonal influenza.

The diameter of the HIV virus is approximately 120 nanometers.

The Spanish influenza was a severe worldwide flu pandemic that occurred in 1918, causing millions of deaths. While it had devastating consequences, it is more commonly referred to as a pandemic rather than a plague, as plagues are typically associated with infectious diseases that spread rapidly and cause widespread illness and death over an extended period of time.

Influenza A is generally considered the worst type due to its ability to cause more severe illness, pandemics, and higher transmission rates compared to Influenza B and C. Influenza A viruses have more genetic variability, allowing them to rapidly evolve and potentially develop resistance to antiviral medications.

If a family member has swine influenza, it's important to encourage them to rest, stay hydrated, and seek medical advice from a healthcare professional. They should also practice good respiratory hygiene by covering their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing to prevent the spread of the virus to others. It's advisable to follow any treatment recommendations provided by the healthcare provider.

Pathogen