Flu is sweeping the planet. It's even reached our country: schools are closed for quarantine, mass vaccinations are underway, lines at pharmacies are lined up, and people are wearing masks on the streets. Numerous tips on flu prevention and treatment are being broadcast in magazines and newspapers, on television and radio.
No one wants to get sick, but you have to go outside and ride public transportation, and who knows where this insidious A/H1N1 virus is waiting for you? Why is this virus in particular causing concern among epidemiologists around the world?
The influenza virus is a truly mysterious phenomenon. It is meticulously studied in laboratories around the world, but its secrets remain unsolved. Over the course of many years of research, three types of influenza viruses have been identified worldwide: A, B, and C.
The influenza A virus was discovered in 1933 by the English virologist Christopher Andrews and his assistants. The influenza B virus was discovered in 1940 by Thomas Francis, and the influenza C virus was discovered in 1947 by Richard Taylor.
Influenza A viruses infect not only humans but also animals and wild birds. Influenza B and C viruses have been isolated only from humans and are not particularly dangerous, but the influenza A virus is capable of causing large-scale epidemics—influenza pandemics—that can affect entire continents.
Over the past 400 years, five pandemics have been recorded worldwide: one originated on the Russian-Chinese border, two in North America, and the last eight (1889-1890, 1900, 1918-1920, 1929-1930, 1947, 1957, 1968, and 1977) in Southeast Asia. The most terrifying of these, the “Spanish flu” (the A/H1N1 influenza pandemic) that swept the globe in 1918-1920, was a true catastrophe. Within two years, the virus had spread to every country in the world, killing at least 20 million people. Never before had influenza been so severe!
The alarm of epidemiologists worldwide is understandable, as this particular type of influenza virus is once again circulating on the planet today. Where it hid all these years after 1918-1920 remains a mystery. One theory is that this virus is capable of infecting animals (for example, pigs) and, having adapted, lingering for a long time, waiting for the right moment to resurface. That pigs can contract influenza was proven by American scientist Richard Shope, who isolated the swine flu virus in 1931.
It's no secret that the influenza virus is capable of mutating and changing its structure. Every year, it emerges in a new form. No less of a mystery is the origin and mutation of the infamous A/H1N1. Some scientists have speculated that the mustard gas used in World War I may have been the cause of the 1918 A/H1N1 mutant.
As is well known, the blood of a person who has had at least one flu strain produces antibodies specifically to that strain. If a person becomes ill again, they will experience a much milder illness than the first time. Research on the A/H1N1 influenza virus has revealed that antibodies to this virus predominate in the blood of people born in 1918-1920 worldwide. However, those born after the pandemic had no antibodies at all. This was a real sensation, but it only added another mystery to the mysteries of A/H1N1 influenza. Unfortunately, the blood of modern people does not contain antibodies to the A/H1N1 virus.
It's difficult to predict what the future holds, what surprises this constantly changing virus will unleash. Despite enormous progress in influenza research, scientists have yet to discover where and how new influenza viruses emerge. It's impossible to predict what kind, where, and when a new (or old) pandemic virus will emerge. Influenza remains a mystery, and scientists must work hard to unravel it.