Introduction

    One of the reasons I wanted to learn more about Influenza and the Influenza vaccine was because I know that flu season is just around the corner and I wanted to learn ways to prevent the flu from infecting me. It seems that more and more people are looking into getting the flu shot. For this upcoming flu season, there have been hundreds and thousands of people running to their doctor saying that they want to get the shot. Since all these demands have been made for the flu shot....there has been a shortage of them all over the world. You can't even pick up a newspaper or turn on the news without seeing or hearing about the flu shot shortage. This made me wonder...how effective is this flu shot and why is there a shortage of it? I think in order to understand how the flu shot works and the effectiveness of the shot, I think some background material should be discussed. I will be discussing what a virus is and how a virus invades your body, the different types of Influenza and symptoms, and finally I will wrap up and discuss the flu shortage and explain why we have one. 

 Definition

    A virus is a tiny bundle of genetic material, which could either be DNA OR RNA, carried in a shell called the viral coat. This Viral coat is made up of tiny pieces of protein called capsomeres. Viruses are characterized by their size and shape. 

Size

    The size of an average virus is smaller than a regular wavelength of visible light. The smallest virus is only 20 nanometers in length. Due to there small size, electron microscopes must be used in order to see them. A regular microscope will not do the trick. Also, viruses are very hard to study and understand due to their small size.

Shape

    Viruses come in a variety of shapes. Many of the virus are multi-sided and resemble a diamond that can be found a ring. Some other viruses can be shaped like ovals with little spikes on them or they can look like bricks. Viruses can also come in these shapes as well: rods, filaments, helixes, polyhedrons and spherical.

  * The above information is from Hidden Killers. 

Pictures of different viruses

Location

    Viruses can be found in mostly all types of materials and in the environment. You can find them in the soil, air, or even water. Viruses are found near other cells  so they can infect them. A viruses sole purpose for existing is to reproduce and infect other living cells. These cells can be from animals, plants, humans, and even fungi and bacteria (Hidden Killers).

Examples

Here are some common viruses that I'm sure most of you have heard of...

• Chickenpox                                                    • AIDS

• Common Cold                                               • Herpes

• Influenza                                                         • Polio

How do viruses infect our body?

        This picture shows how a virus, particularly Influenza, infects a cell. The picture is rather confusing so I broke down the processes into steps in order to help explain the picture better. Not only is this the processes of the how the Influenza virus infects us, but all viruses infect us in the same way. After reading over the steps, this picture should become easier to understand.

    Before this process can even begin, the virus must enter your body. You might be asking yourself, "How does it enter the body?" Actually, it is quite simple. Viruses can enter the body through the nose, mouth, or any other opening in the body. Viruses can also enter your body through breaks in the skin, for example a cut or some kind of open flesh wound. Once the virus is inside your body, then it looks for a host cell. A host cell is a healthy living cell that the virus invades in order to produces more viruses in the body.  Depending on the type of virus, the host cell must fit the "needs" of that particular virus in order for it to be chosen as the host cell. An example of this would be the AIDS virus. The host cells for this particular virus are T-cells located in the immune system. An other example would be influenza. This virus will attack the cells in the respiratory or digestive track only. If a viruses doesn't find a proper host cell, the viruses will lie dormant in your body. An infection only takes place when the virus comes in contact with its host cells. Once it finds the host cell, the process of reproducing and taking over the cell beings. (Fredenrich)

The Invasion of the Host Cells

1)  Once the virus lands on the host cell, the genetic material from the virus can enter the host cell in one of two ways. The virus can either trick the host cell by pulling the virus inside the cell or it can fuse its viral coat along the host cell wall or membrane and start to release its genes inside.

2) Viruses either contain DNA or RNA genetic material. If the virus has DNA material, then that material inserts itself into the DNA of the host cell. If the virus contains RNA material, the host cell will start to convert the RNA into DNA. Once this is completed, then the DNA will insert itself into the host's DNA.

3) Now the viral genes will be copied over and over and over again using the "machinery" the cell normally uses to produce its own DNA.

4) The viruses then start to form viral capsids and other viral proteins by using the host cell's enzymes.

5) Once the above 4 steps are completed, the new viruses are ready to be released into the body. The viruses can leave the host cell in one of two ways. They can either break the host cell open, which would destroy the host cell or they can pinch out from the cell membrane and break away with a piece of the cell membrane surrounding them. This process is called budding. This is the process that is used in the picture above. If the "budding out" process takes place, the host cell will not be destroyed. Now, the viruses can attack other cells. Going through this process once can produce thousands of new viruses. This is why infections can spread quickly throughout your body. (Fredenrich)

Why do you get a fever?

    When your body is infected with a virus, your immune system responds to the infection and tries to fight it off. As the immune system is fighting off the infection, it produces a variety of chemicals called pyrogens that cause your body temperature to raise. Actually, the fever helps to slow down the rate of viral reproduction. The reason for this is in order for your body to reproduce more viruses in host cell's your body temperature must be around 98.6 degrees. If not, most of your bodies chemicals reactions will start to slow down and the reproduction rate of the viruses slows down as well. Your immune system will keep on fighting until the viruses are eliminated from your body (Viruses).

Ways to help reduce the spread of virus

These are just some of the things you can do to help reduce your risk of receiving a viral infection:

• Cover your mouth or nose when you sneeze or cough

• Wash your hands often, especially after going to the bathroom or preparing food

• Avoid contact with the bodily fluids of others

 The Flu Defined

    The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. It can produce mild or server symptoms and can even cause death. Every year, 5%-20% of the U.S. population is infected with the influenza virus. Complications to the flu has been unknown to hospitalize 200,000 people a year and cause approximately 36,000 deaths. Some of these complications could be pneumonia, dehydration, asthma, and congestive heart failure. A higher risk for complications can be do to age, older adults or young children, and health conditions, which includes pregnancy.  The incubation period for the flu is 1-4 days with an avg. of 2 days. Adults become infectious from the day before symptoms begin until approx. 5 days after the illness has started. Children can be infectious for more than 10 days after the onset of symptoms.

Three types of the Influenza Virus

Influenza A: The Influenza A virus can be found in a variety of animals including ducks, chickens, whales, horses, and pigs. Humans can also get this type of influenza. This type of influenza is divided up into different subtypes based on two different proteins located on the surface of the virus. The proteins are called hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). As of right now, the current forms of Influenza A located in humans are A(H1N1) and A(H3N2). These particular strains of Influenza A are found in the flu shot.

Influenza B: Unlike Influenza A, Influenza B isn't divided into subtypes. This type of influenza is only found in humans and most of the time when you get the flu, its because of the Influenza B virus. Strains of this particular type of influenza is also found in the flu shot.

Influenza C: This type of influenza causes a mild respiratory illness and is not responsible for epidemics. Also, the Influenza C virus in NOT found in the flu shot.

* It is very rare that a human can catch the flu from an animal and vise versa, but there have been reports of humans catching the flu from animals.

Common Flu Symptoms

These are just a few of the possible symptoms that people can get when they have the flu. These symptoms can vary from mild to server depending upon the person and virus.

• Fever (usually high)                                                • Sore Throat

• Headache                                                               • Runny or Stuffy Nose

• Fatigue                                                                   • Muscle Aches

• Dry Cough                                                              • Vomiting and/or Nausea

When is Flu Season?

    The Flu season usually begins in October and it could last as late as May. The season changes every year. Between October and December would be the best time for anyone to receive the flu shot.

 * All the above information is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 Two types of Flu vaccinations

1) The Flu Shot: This shot contains killed influenza viruses. The vaccine tends to change year-to-year depending upon which strains of the virus are causing the outbreak. The shot can be given to anyone over the age of 6 months. You must get the flu shot once a year, it’s not just a one time deal.

2) The Nasal-Spray Flu Vaccine: This vaccine  is made of live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu. The nasal spray is approved for us in healthy people ranging from 5-49 years old. People who are pregnant are not allowed to take it.

* Both forms of the flu vaccine usually take effect after two weeks. In two weeks time, the body has produced the proper antibodies to fight against the infection.

* There is only a 52-90% chance that the flu vaccine will work on you. The reason why this varies so much is do to the age of the infected person and what strains of the virus is the person has.  With that being said, if you receive the flu vaccine, you could possible still get the flu but your symptoms tend to be milder.

Who should get Vaccinated?

Do to the flu shortages, the Center for Disease Control only recommends that certain people should receive the flu shot. The following people are first priority:

• All children aged 6-23 months                                                                                             • People in nursing homes           

• Adults 65 and over                                                                                                                • Children 6 months - 18yrs. old who are on chronic aspirin therapy

• People who are 2-64 years old that have chronic medical conditions                            • Health care workers involved with direct patient care

• All women who will be pregnant during flu season                                                            • Out of home caregivers of children who are < 6 months old

* If you or someone you know fits into anyone of these categories, it is best if you see your family doctor about receiving a flu shot.

Who shouldn't get Vaccinated?

People who don't fit in the above categories are asked to forgo vaccination because of the flu shortage. Here are a list of some of the people who should forgo getting vaccinated:

•  People who have an allergy to chicken eggs

• If you have had a past severe reaction to the shot before

• Children under the age of 6 months

• People who are currently sick with a fever. (Once your fever goes away...then you can get vaccinated)

Interesting Quote

Catharine A. Kopac, who is a Gerontology researcher at Georgetown University says, "Right now the entire country runs on fear and we don't need to live like that. We somehow think we should be disease-free all the time. If you're leading a healthy life and you get sick with the flu, you're probably going to get through it."(Verrengia, 2004). No one likes to get sick with the flu. You feel miserable when you have the flu and all you want to do is to stay in bed. The most important this is is that you will get through it. There are people out there far more worse then you are and could benefit more from getting the flu shot then you. Its not the end of the world for you but it might be for someone else who can't get that flu shot.

Do Antibiotics work on the Influenza Virus?

    Most people probably think that antibiotics work on virus. Actually, antibiotics have NO effect on a virus. Almost all antibiotics interfere with the reproduction of bacteria, which hinders their creation of new genetic instructions or new cell walls. Virus don't carry out their own biochemical reactions so take antibiotics wont get rid of your flu. What you need to take are antiviral medications such as Amantadine, Rimantadine, Zanamivir, & Oseltamivir (Freudenrich).

Why do we have a flu vaccine shortage?

There are two place on the entire planet where flu vaccines are made. One of them is located in Strasbourg, France and the second one is located in Liverpool England. The problem with the flu shortage has to deal with the company in Liverpool. The company called Chiron Corp. was shut down by British authorities due to contamination problems. Since the company has been shut down, the U.S. supply of the flu vaccine is cut down by 48 million, which is nearly half. This only lives the U.S. with 54 million doses of the vaccine made by Aventis Pasteur, which is the company located in France. We have about 1-2 million doses of the nasal spray vaccine called FluMist, which comes from a company called Medimmune Inc. of Mountain View, California. This is the reason why we have a flu vaccine shortage in the U.S. Doctors and other health officials want to make sure that the people who desperately need the flu shot get it first before anyone else (Ludden, 2004).

Bibliography

Coffee, Melanie. (2004). Illinois finds 200,000 more doses of flu shots. Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Freudenrich, C.C. How Viruses Work. Retrieved on October 21, 2004 from http://science.howstuffworks.com/virus-human5.htm

Hidden Killers: Human Defenses. Retrieved on October 21, 2004 from http://library.thinkquest.org/23054/hdefense/page4.html

Hidden Killers: Virus Profiles. Retrieved on October 21, 2004 from http://library.thinkquest.org/23054/profiles/influenza/index.html

Ludden, Michael (2004). Most don't blame Bush for flu vaccine shortage. Retrieved on October 26, 2004 from www.cnn.com

Montalto, N.J. (2003). An office-based approach to influenza: Clinical diagnosis and laboratory testing. American Family Physician, 67(1), pp. 111-118.

Preventing and Treating the Flu Naturally. Retrieved on October 26, 2004 from www.youngagain.com

The Flu. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved on October 26, 2004 from www.cdc.gov

Verrengia, Joseph (2004). Officials say most can skip flu shot. The Boston Globe.

Viruses. American Society for Microbiology. Retrieved on October 28, 2004 from www.microbe.org

* If you have any comments or questions about my website or my presentation, please feel free to email me @ jstolz@lhup.edu!