'Know your enemy', a saying derived from Sun Tzu's The art of War, aptly describes what could be described as a war between infectious viruses and men. In the case of the virus that causes the flu, what you don't know can make you very sick or even kill you!
The actual size of a virus
In order to understand what you are up against, lets take a look at just how small a virus (like the one that causes the flu) actually is. Click on this very cool link and then use the button to zoom down to the appropriate level. Wow! That flu virus is really tiny isn't? Yet, if that little guy gets a toe-hold in your body, you'll think a Mac truck ran you over...twice!
Flu virus anatomy
Here is a drawing of a typical flu virus. Note the little knobby things all over the surface. These are specialized protein complexes that aid the virus in first attaching to a human cell and then in leaving it once the virus has made millions of copies of itself. These quickly spread to other cells and then the real war begins vis a vie the bodies immune system which ramps up to fight the invasion. When this happens, a person typically begins to complains of fever, chills, etc. Yes, they have the flu! Here is a really good video that will help to visualize the process:
Now, if that were not enough, here's the reason why the flu is such a big problem that it kills over 36, 000 people in a typical year. It turns out that those genes that are inserted into the virus are RNA rather than the more stable DNA. Think of RNA as a really bad coping machine, turning out all sorts of slightly altered copies all the time. Scientists call this process mutation, and the flu virus is a past master at screwing around with its genetic code. To make matters worst, the virus easily goes through a process called re-assortment when ever it gets a chance. This is sort of like shuffling a deck of cards only the cards are coming from other strains of flu. This ability to mutate is why scientists constantly watch to see how the flu has changed from season to season. Right now there are three broad categories of the flu known as type A, B, and C. It's type A that causes most of the problems in humans these days. Remember those little spikes on the surface of the virus? These represent the haemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes and they are the ones that scientists watch for changes. They use a notation that expresses these changed viruses or subtypes in the form of A (H,N) – Here's a list of the most current group of troublemakers:
- H3N2, which caused Hong Kong Flu in 1968
- H1N2, endemic in humans, pigs and birds
There are others, but these are the ones that have garnered the most attention. Currently only A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and A(H2N2) are the most active and are found in both humans and pigs. Vaccines are made fresh every season custom tailored to the specific subtypes that are out there.
How to stay away from the flu
The perfect way to stay safe would be to lock yourself in a room, every fall. One that has filtered air, sterilized water and canned food. And, oh yes, no visitors allowed! Not a very reasonable thing to do. In the real world you will always be at some risk. However, you can significantly reduce your risk by doing the following (pdf file):
- Eat healthy foods, exercise and get lots of sleep. This will help keep your immune system at its peak.
- During bad flu outbreaks, avoid crowded areas like malls, theaters and such. This can be very tough to do if you have young kids in school.
- When you are out, stay alert to others. If someone looks sick avoid them.
- Make sure you wipe down the handle on your shopping cart prior to using it.
- Avoid touching any counter tops (banks, restroom sinks, etc.).
- Don't shake hands if you can help it. Pretend you are oriental and bow instead.
- Refrain from handling currency. Use a credit card when out and sanitize it when you get home.
- If you must eat out, try and look for small restaurants at which to eat. Stay away from large venues with large staffs.
- Wash your hands! If you do nothing else, this is one of the best ways to stay out of trouble.
- Avoid touching your nose or eyes with your hands. There! You just did it again!
That's it! I hope that you were able to muddle through my poor writing style. I hope everyone stays safe and healthy throughout the coming flu season. Note: Please send me a comment if you see something I screwed up. Just ignore the typing errors and forge ahead. :)
