Swine Flu (H1N1/09)

Interferon is a protein released by the immune system in response to viral infections like H1N1. It helps to inhibit viral replication, boost immune response, and activate other immune cells to help clear the virus from the body, thus protecting us from the H1N1 virus.

H1N1 virus replicates by entering human respiratory cells, hijacking the cell's machinery to make copies of its own genetic material and proteins. These new viral components are then assembled into new viruses, which are released from the host cell to infect other cells and continue the cycle of infection.

These hand sanitizers, if they contain a minimum of 60% alcohol as most do, are effective on bacteria and viruses if used exactly as directed on the label. The instructions will include that you should briskly rub your hands together until they are dry. This provides friction that adds to the mechanical removal of the germs from your hands in addition to the direct effect of the alcohol on the organisms. As soon as you are where you can wash your hands with soap and water, the rinsing with warm water also helps flush germs away and drying your hands on a clean towel again provides friction to move the germs off.

I am not able to speak to what all doctors think, but research I've done indicates that the majority in the US medical community (and most if not all parts of the world) think that the swine flu (H1N1/09) during the 2009 pandemic was a mild disease for the majority infected. It was fast-spreading. It affected some populations (such as the young and healthy, pregnant women, etc.) with more complications than those groups usually experience with the typical seasonal flu. It did not infect or kill as many in the over 65 age group, which usually is harder hit with deaths from the seasonal flu. It is unknown why they had less risk with this disease, but some think they may have acquired some aspect of protection from exposure to other similar types of flu sometime in their lifetimes.

The microbiologists, epidemiologists, and medical practitioners understand the science of the disease and research that indicates that it was caused by a reassortant (mutation/combination) of common strains of flu in swine, humans, and birds that resulted in the new strain. Although this was a new mutation and could have been devastating to the population of the world if it had caused a higher mortality rate, especially since it spread so easily and since there was no inherited or acquired immunity available in the population from prior exposure to the specific strain, they realize that good public education, fast responses by the medical and public health communities and quick development of vaccines all contributed to the control of the new disease and the actual results compared to the potential results that existed and were creating all the concern among world scientists.

I personally, as a member of the medical community, believe that the entire experience was valuable for the world community as preparation for what will likely happen in future epidemics, and it will have provided a good trial of our preparedness and responses to pandemics and threatened pandemics in the future. If we continue to practice good hygiene and avoid the spread of our germs with these improved practices and cough and sneeze etiquette, we will all be better prepared and safer in future situations of new forms of infectious disease.

This situation proved the value and safety of flu vaccinations as well. Millions were vaccinated and protected from disease with a significantly low number of adverse effects reported.

Be safe and protected by getting and having your children treated with routine vaccinations for diseases.

The research is ongoing. There has already been commendable and significant research done by the departments of health in most, if not all, nations in the world. The UK, Mexico, Canada and US have been involved in research from the beginning and as cases began spreading in the western Northern Hemisphere from the origin in North America.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) took the lead in much of the early research, evaluation and monitoring and served the role as the centers of coordination of the research. Even now they continue as the pandemic is in the Post Pandemic Phase.

As it was determined that new vaccines were going to be needed as soon as possible to prevent illness and death in potentially huge, but unknown at the time, proportions of public infections as well as to control the epidemics and hopefully avert a pandemic, drug manufacturers also began research and development of a vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration of the US along with the CDC began evaluating and encouraging the rapid vaccine development for approval for use.

The epidemiologists, doctors, microbiologists, and other scientists of the various world communicable disease organizations, Universities, and US States' public health departments and their counterparts in other nations frantically worked to research, formulate plans for control, prevention, and treatment and emergency interventions, to roll out plans for vaccine development and distribution, to create guidelines and recommendations for work and school and to prepare and communicate other public education on prevention and treatment.

Hospitals and health care providers researched and monitored their policies for infection control, prepared for potential catastrophic numbers of patients, and researched methods to meet the needs.

The US State Department and Transportation authorities researched and developed recommendations and safeguards in travel and issued those recommendations. The US Department of Homeland Security had a role in travel recommendations and research on control of disease and also issued suggestions for evaluation and treatment of those entering and leaving the US. The airlines researched and developed their disease control processes as did other public transportation providers. Other nations and health departments and other disease control authorities followed suit. It was a huge world wide collaborative and cooperative effort to study and meet to determine special needs of individual locations as well as coordination of efforts and communication among themselves and to the public.

Media outlets scrambled for information and to report as quickly as possible life-saving recommendations from their research of all the other research and to present their expert evaluations of all.

This was considerably a joint effort, but the World Health Organization took the lead role as a clearing house of information and official communications of the progress of research and development world wide. The NHS in the UK took a lead in European R&D, the US CDC was prepared, staffed, and funded, and therefore, able to lead some of the more scientific research, laboratory monitoring and recommendations, and development of laboratory and field medical diagnostic tools.

Private corporations, besides the pharmaceutical companies, researched for development of products for hygiene, infection control, symptomatic relief for over-the-counter and other product development to meet the needs and address growing concerns of the public for prevention and treatment.

Public and private education entities researched to develop models and plans to evaluate intervention needs, school closure plans if needed, student monitoring and care, and communications from their science departments involved in the research and communications to their communities.

Answers.com staff and volunteers played an educational role through WikiAnswers Q&A and spent considerable hours of timely research to quickly respond to the thousands of questions of the public and to correct the common dissemination of misinformation and to quell fears and control public panic. See the link to the Answers.com H1N1 Pandemic Swine Flu category of questions in the related links section below.

All of the human and animal health organizations researched to provide guides to their medical professional members such as the American Medical Association (AMA), American Hospital Association (AHA), AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), ACOG (American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) and similar associations and medical boards in the US and counterparts in the rest of the world.

Injections that hurt more could be due to factors such as the thickness of the needle, the amount of tissue the needle has to pass through, the type of medication being injected (some are more acidic or viscous), and the skill of the person administering the injection. Additionally, individual pain tolerance and nerve sensitivity can also play a role in how painful an injection feels.

Swine flu H1N1 is considered an antigenic shift, as it resulted from a reassortment of genetic material from different influenza virus strains in animals. This led to the emergence of a new subtype that can infect humans.

A typical cardiac rehabilitation program lasts around 12 weeks, with participants attending sessions two to three times a week. The duration of the program may vary depending on the individual's progress and specific needs.

Yes, electrolytes are present inside cells. They help regulate the balance of fluids inside and outside cells, ensuring proper cell function and communication. Key intracellular electrolytes include potassium, magnesium, and phosphate.

Both. Viruses are naturally occurring organisms that have been around "forever". They have the ability to mutate or change themselves into new shapes and types sometimes using genetic material from more than one kind of virus, which would make them naturally occurring hybrids. They were not man-made.

Depending on the virus, it could live a week. Some studies have shown even longer when there is nasal discharge, sputum, or blood to help keep the virus from drying out. There can be blood left in the used needle, so the virus can still be "alive" for two weeks or more depending on the type of virus.

If you are the needle user for medications such as insulin, you should get a proper receptacle for needle disposal. Your pharmacy should be able to help you find these, or a medical supply store likely has them available. For a cheaper version you can use an empty bleach bottle to put the syringes and needles in until you can properly dispose (keep the cap to the bleach bottle so you can keep the used equipment contained). Local laws may apply so be sure you dispose properly according to your location.

Subunit vaccines are produced using only a part of the viral genome. These vaccines use specific proteins or fragments of the virus to stimulate an immune response without causing infection. An example of a subunit vaccine is the Hepatitis B vaccine.

A latent virus remains dormant in the host cell without actively reproducing. When triggered by certain factors, such as stress or a weakened immune system, the virus can reactivate and begin replicating in the host cell to produce new viral particles.

A single cell virus particle is called a virion. It consists of genetic material enclosed in a protein coat.

The viral reproductive cycle you are describing is called the lytic cycle. In this cycle, the phage hijacks the host cell's machinery to replicate itself, leading to the destruction of the host cell when it bursts open to release new phages.

My eighth grade students conducted a science experiment for which they tested the effects of a variety of additives to the soil of bean plants that had already germinated in water.

I don't remember all of them, but what was surprising to everyone was that the plant that had hand sanitizer added to the soil was stronger, healthier, and bigger than the one fed on water alone.

None. Swine flu is an illness caused by the pathogen known now as swine flu virus, A-H1N1/09 influenza. The illness contains no immune cells, nor does the virus. Your body responds to the presence of the virus with an immune response that sends your own immune cells to the area of your body where the flu virus has invaded. It is your body's immune cells that enter the "fight" and eventually get rid of the virus by constructing the type of immune cells called antibodies that are a perfect fit to inactivate the specific virus so it can no longer cause cell damage and symptoms of the flu. Your body then remembers the antibodies that worked to inactivate the virus so it can use them in the future if you are ever exposed to that virus again.

The influenza virus doesn't always cause recurrent infections. There are many different strains of the flu and there are two types, which are Type A ad Type B. The flu is a virus that has to run its course.

It is possible to harm a plant by applying hand sanitizer to its leaves or roots, as the alcohol in the sanitizer can dehydrate and damage plant tissues. However, killing the plant would likely require repeated or excessive applications. It's generally best to avoid using hand sanitizer on plants.

Theoretically it is possible to get antibodies from the serum of recovered patient of H1N1. But it will be available in very less quantity. Second question is to whom you will give these antibodies. Thirdly the protection will not be lasting. As this is passive immunity.

It is easier to make drugs that fight bacteria because bacteria are prokaryotic cells with distinct structures that can be targeted by antibiotics, whereas viruses are not fully living organisms and rely on host cells to replicate, making them harder to target without harming host cells. Additionally, bacteria have more varied metabolic pathways and cellular processes that can be targeted by drugs, while viruses have simpler structures and are harder to develop drugs against.

Yes, there are different types of germs, and viruses are one of them. Viruses cause the flu and swine flu is one type. Germ is a general lay term for an infectious agent that causes disease, similar to the general term pathogen. Pathogens cause illness or disease. Another term used is microbe, although many scientists in the field do not classify viruses as microbes because they are not living organisms, however, for a lack of a better term, viruses are still often called microbes. Viruses are also not microscopic like microbes, they are even much smaller and are considered sub-microscopic, requiring an electron microscope to visualize.

hemaglutinin and neuraminidase, two surface glycoproteins of influenza that contribute the the virulence of the disease...

Interferons are a group of signaling proteins released by cells in response to viral infections. They help to induce a state of resistance in neighboring cells, making them less susceptible to viral replication and spread. Additionally, some hormones like cortisol can also play a role in modulating the immune response against viruses.

They are rapidly spreading, easily transmitted from human to human, have the ability to mutate rapidly, and they usually spread in several waves before they die out.