H2N2This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader, such as GoogleReader, or to display this data on your own website or blog. Subscribe to this data using MyMedWorm.Subscribe to this data using GoogleReader.Subscribe to this data using Bloglines.Subscribe to this data using MyYahoo.

This page shows you your search results in order of date.

21 records returned

New WHO Criteria To Qualify Flu Viruses As Pandemic StrainsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
An editorial published today in BMJ Clinical Evidence reports that more flu viruses could qualify as pandemic strains as a result of recent changes to the World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria for a flu pandemic. A change from, for example, A [H2N2] influenza to A [H3N2] is a process known as a "shift". (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - November 4, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Swine Flu Source Type: news

The influence of the multi-basic cleavage site of the H5 hemagglutinin on the attenuation, immunogenicity and efficacy of a live attenuated influenza A H5N1 cold-adapted vaccine virus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A recombinant live attenuated influenza virus DeltaH5N1 vaccine with a modified hemagglutinin (HA) and intact neuraminidase genes from A/Vietnam/1203/04 (H5N1) and six remaining genome segments from A/Ann Arbor/6/60 (H2N2) cold-adapted (AA ca) virus was previously shown to be attenuated in chickens, mice and ferrets. Evaluation of the recombinant H5N1 viruses in mice indicated that three independent factors contributed to the attenuation of the DeltaH5N1 vaccine: the attenuating mutations specified by the AA ca loci had the greatest influence, followed by the deletion of the H5 HA multi-basic cleavage site (MBS), and t...
Source: Virology - October 12, 2009 Category: Virology Authors: Suguitan AL, Marino MP, Desai PD, Chen LM, Matsuoka Y, Donis RO, Jin H, Swayne DE, Kemble G, Subbarao K Tags: Virology Source Type: journals

Residual immunity in older people against the influenza A(H1N1) - recent experience in northern SpainEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus has a higher incidence in children and young adults, a pattern that has also been reported in seasonal influenza caused by the influenza A(H1N1) virus. We analysed age at infection in symptomatic patients with influenza in the Basque Country (northern Spain), reported through the sentinel influenza surveillance system which monitors 2.2-2.5% of the population. Between September 1999 and August 2009, influenza A(H3N2) or seasonal influenza A(H1N1) was detected in 941 patients, and from April to August 2009, pandemic influenza A(H1N1) was detected in 112 patients. The H3/H1 seasonal ...
Source: Eurosurveillance latest news - October 1, 2009 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: journals

Molecular Detection of a Novel Human Influenza (H1N1) of Pandemic Potential by Conventional and Real-Time Quantitative RT-PCR Assays [Brief Communications]Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: These assays appear useful for the rapid diagnosis of cases with the novel H1N1 virus, thereby allowing better pandemic preparedness. (Source: Clinical Chemistry)
Source: Clinical Chemistry - July 27, 2009 Category: Chemistry Authors: Poon, L. L.M., Chan, K.H., Smith, G.J., Leung, C.S.W., Guan, Y., Yuen, K.Y., Peiris, J.S.M. Tags: Brief Communications Source Type: journals

H1N1 traced to 1918 pandemicEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article was written by D M Morens and colleagues from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, in the US. It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. No potential conflicts of interest were reported. A related article on the evolution of the current pandemic strain of the H1N1 virus was also published in the same issue and has been covered in Behind the Headlines. What kind of study was this? This was a review article written by acknowledged experts in the field, explaining the lineage of the pandemic flu virus seen in 1918 and relating it to the emergence of the pandemic H...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 21, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Swine flu Source Type: news

The history of swine fluEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The Independent says that “the swine flu pandemic might not have happened had it not been for the accidental release of the same strain of influenza virus from a research laboratory in the late 1970s.” The news comes from a medical article which analysed the history of the influenza A H1N1 virus, including the recent development of swine flu seen around the world. The reports say that the H1N1 influenza strain was responsible for a flu pandemic in 1977, but before this it had not been found in humans for more than 20 years. By looking at the genetic makeup of the 1977 virus, researchers have found that it was similar t...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 30, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news

Extant blood samples to deduce the strains of the 1890 and possibly earlier pandemic influenzasEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Summary: Influenza outbreaks in 1918, 1957 and 1968 caused some of the highest infectious disease mortality in the 20th century. In particular the 1918 pandemic caused more than 50 million deaths worldwide—the most deaths caused by any infectious disease ever in human history. Influenza pandemics in 1890 and earlier in the 19th century and back until at least the 16th century also caused non-trivial mortality. The excessively high mortality from flu in these years is thought to be due to major antigenic shifts in influenza strains, as opposed to smaller drifts in flu strains in years between pandemics. It is also thought...
Source: Medical Hypotheses - May 24, 2009 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Eric Lewin Altschuler, Yvonne M. Kariuki, Aesha Jobanputra Source Type: journals

Functional significance of the hemadsorption activity of influenza virus neuraminidase and its alteration in pandemic virusesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Human influenza viruses derive their genes from avian viruses. The neuraminidase (NA) of the avian viruses has, in addition to the catalytic site, a separate sialic acid binding site (hemadsorption site) that is not present in human viruses. The biological significance of the NA hemadsorption activity in avian influenza viruses remained elusive. A sequence database analysis revealed that the NAs of the majority of human H2N2 viruses isolated during the influenza pandemic of 1957 differ from their putative avian precursor by amino acid substitutions in the hemadsorption site. We found that the NA of ...
Source: Archives of Virology - May 21, 2009 Category: Virology Tags: Archives of Virology Source Type: journals

Characteristics of arbidol-resistant mutants of influenza virus: Implications for the mechanism of anti-influenza action of arbidol.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The antiviral drug arbidol (ARB), which is licensed in Russia for use against influenza, is known to inhibit early membrane fusion events in influenza A and B virus replication. To investigate in more detail the target and mechanism of ARB action we generated and studied the characteristics of ARB-resistant influenza virus mutants. Observations of the ARB susceptibility of reassortants between A/Singapore/1/57(H2N2) and A/chicken/Germany/27(H7N7, "Weybridge" strain) and of mutants of the latter virus identified the virus haemagglutinin (HA) as the major determinant of ARB sensitivity. ARB-resistant mutants, selected fr...
Source: Antiviral Research - November 21, 2008 Category: Virology Authors: Leneva IA, Russell RJ, Boriskin YS, Hay AJ Tags: Antiviral Res Source Type: journals

Genetic characterization and protective immunity of cold-adapted attenuated avian H9N2 influenza vaccine.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
H9N2 influenza viruses are endemic in many Asian countries including China and Korea, and cause a considerable economic loss to chicken industry by reduction in egg production and about 30% mortality. Here we developed live cold-adapted attenuated H9N2 influenza vaccine by adaptation of viruses in hen's eggs at 25 degrees C. Genetic analysis shows that the cold-adapted H9N2 (A/Chicken/Korea/S1/03) viruses contain a total of 44 amino acid substitutions, of which 7 amino acids are identical to the loci identified in the cold-adapted H2N2 (A/Ann Arbor/6/60) vaccine strain compared to genes in wild-type H9N2 (A/Chicken/Kor...
Source: Vaccine - October 3, 2008 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Lee JS, Kim HS, Seo SH Tags: Vaccine Source Type: journals

Prevalence of avian influenza viruses, Borrelia garinii, Mycobacterium avium, and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in waterfowl and terrestrial birds in Slovakia, 2006.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The prevalence of Borrelia, Mycobacteria and avian influenza virus (AIV) infections, together with the distribution of different AIV subtypes, was studied in migratory waterfowl and terrestrial birds trapped in three localities in Slovakia during 2006. Samples obtained from waterfowl captured in the Senianske Ponds area of Eastern Slovakia showed the highest diversity of AIV isolates. A total of 13 different subtypes were detected in 19 samples from this location (H1N2, H2N2, H3N2, H6N6, H7N6, H9N2, H9N5, H9N6, H10N5, H10N6, H12N6, H13N6, and H16N6). H3N5 virus was detected in 50% of passerines testing positive for AIV...
Source: Avian Pathology - September 18, 2008 Category: Pathology Authors: Gronesova P, Ficova M, Mizakova A, Kabat P, Trnka A, Betakova T Tags: Avian Pathol Source Type: journals

Homologous recombination evidence in human and swine influenza A viruses.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study reports several significant evidence demonstrating that homologous recombination also takes place between influenza A viruses in human and swine lineages. Moreover, in a mosaic descended from swine H1N1 subtype and human H2N2, we found that its minor putative parent might be a derivative from the human cold-adapted vaccine lineage, which suggests that live vaccine is capable of playing a role in genetic change of influenza A virus via recombination with circulating viruses. These results would be important for knowing the molecular mechanism of mammal influenza A virus heredity and evolution. PMID: 18721995 ...
Source: Virology - August 20, 2008 Category: Virology Authors: He CQ, Han GZ, Wang D, Liu W, Li GR, Liu XP, Ding NZ Tags: Virology Source Type: journals

Effects of single-point amino acid substitutions on the structure and function neuraminidase proteins in influenza A virus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In order to clarify the effect of amino acid substitutions on the structure and function of the neuraminidase (NA) protein of influenza A virus, we introduced single-point amino acid substitutions into the NA protein of the A/Tokyo/3/67 (H2N2) strain using PCR-based random mutation. The rate of tolerant random one amino acid substitutions in the NA protein was 47%. Rates of tolerant substitutions for the stalk and for the surface and inner portion of the head region of the NA protein were 79, 54, and 19%, respectively. Deleterious changes, such as those causing the NA protein to stop at the Golgi/endoplasmic reticulum,...
Source: Microbiology and Immunology - July 3, 2008 Category: Microbiology Authors: Yano T, Nobusawa E, Nagy A, Nakajima S, Nakajima K Tags: Microbiol Immunol Source Type: journals

Confronting an influenza pandemic with inexpensive generic agents: can it be done?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Avian influenza A H5N1 presents a serious and possibly imminent pandemic threat. In such an event, adequate supplies of affordable vaccines and antiviral agents will be unavailable to most people in the world. In view of the overwhelming need for effective alternatives, generic agents that target the host immune response or the pandemic virus should be considered. Many scientists doubt the effectiveness of these agents. Nonetheless, several studies suggest that statins improve outcomes in patients with bacteraemia and pneumonia and might be similarly effective against influenza. An experimental study has shown that the...
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - April 15, 2008 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Fedson DS Tags: Lancet Infect Dis Source Type: journals

An exploratory method for estimating the changing speed of epidemic waves from historical dataEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions The new measure of wave velocity appears to be applicable to those historical time series where breakdown into regional or local areas is available. The study is being extended to (i) other countries where similar influenza time series are available and (ii) to other diseases within Iceland. (Source: International Journal of Epidemiology)
Source: International Journal of Epidemiology - January 31, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Cliff, A. D, Haggett, P., Smallman-Raynor, M. Tags: Special Theme: Communicable Disease Source Type: journals

Healthy Human Subjects Have CD4+ T Cells Directed against H5N1 Influenza Virus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
It is commonly perceived that the human immune system is naive to the newly emerged H5N1 virus. In contrast, most adults have been exposed to influenza A H1N1 and H3N2 viruses through vaccination or infection. Adults born before 1968 have likely been exposed to H2N2 viruses. We hypothesized that CD4(+) T cells generated in response to H1N1, H3N2, and H2N2 influenza A viruses also recognize H5N1 epitopes. Tetramer-guided epitope mapping and Ag-specific class II tetramers were used to identify H5N1-specific T cell epitopes and detect H5N1-specific T cell responses. Fifteen of 15 healthy subjects tested had robust CD4(+) ...
Source: Journal of Immunology - January 24, 2008 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Roti M, Yang J, Berger D, Huston L, James EA, Kwok WW Tags: J Immunol Source Type: journals

Automated extraction of avian influenza virus for rapid detection using real-time RT-PCR.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: The main advantages of automated robotic viral nucleic acid extraction are high throughput processing; hands-free operation; and reduction in human and technical error. This study demonstrates successful detection of influenza A virus with magnetic beads utilizing the Qiagen MagAttract cell kit on a BioRobot M48 platform. PMID: 17875401 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Journal of Clinical Virology)
Source: Journal of Clinical Virology - September 15, 2007 Category: Virology Authors: Tewari D, Zellers C, Acland H, Pedersen JC Tags: J Clin Virol Source Type: journals

Non-compact nucleocapsid protein multimers in influenza-virus-infected cellsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study we demonstrate that, in addition to compact NP oligomers, incompletely folded NP multimers are detected in tracellularly by SDS/PAGE carried out under weak dissociating conditions. In cells infected with avian, human A(H2N2), and human A(H3N2) viruses, NP multimers are detected in the stacking gel of SDS/PAGE as retarded and loose structures dissociating at +50??C. NP multimers are more sensitive to proteolysis than NP oligomers, but they are more resistant to proteolysis than NP monomers. In contrast to compact NP oligomers, NP multimers possess a weak immunoreactivity to some monoclonal antibodies. Pulse-ch...
Source: Archives of Virology - January 10, 2007 Category: Virology Source Type: journals

Laboratory Exposure to Influenza A H2N2, Germany, 2004–2005, A. Schrauder et al.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
(Source: Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal)
Source: Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal - November 15, 2006 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: journals

Characterization of an influenza A H5N2 reassortant as a candidate for live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines against highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses with pandemic potential.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Authors: Desheva JA, Lu XH, Rekstin AR, Rudenko LG, Swayne DE, Cox NJ, Katz JM, Klimov AI We generated a high-growth 7:1 reassortant (Len17/H5) that contained the hemagglutinin (HA) gene from non-pathogenic A/Duck/Potsdam/1402-6/86 (H5N2) virus and other genes from the cold-adapted (ca) attenuated A/Leningrad/134/17/57 (H2H2) strain. Len17/H5 demonstrated an attenuated phenotype in mice and did not infect chickens. Mice administered Len17/H5 either as a live-attenuated intranasal vaccine or as an inactivated intramuscular vaccine were substantially protected from lethal challenge with highly pathogenic A/Hong Kong/483/...
Source: Vaccine - October 21, 2006 Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: journals

The origins of new pandemic viruses: the acquisition of new host ranges by canine parvovirus and influenza A viruses.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Transfer of viruses between hosts to create a new self-sustaining epidemic is rare; however, those new viruses can cause severe outbreaks. Examples of such viruses include three pandemic human influenza A viruses and canine parvovirus in dogs. In each case one virus made the original transfer and spread worldwide, and then further adaptation resulted in the emergence of variants worldwide. For the influenza viruses several changes were required for growth and spread between humans, and the emergence of human H2N2 and H3N2 strains in 1957 and 1968 involved the acquisition of three or two new genomic segments, respective...
Source: Annual Review of Microbiology - January 1, 2005 Category: Microbiology Authors: Parrish CR, Kawaoka Y Tags: Annu Rev Microbiol Source Type: journals