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Virology
Viral structure and functions
Varicella zoster virus
Cytomegalovirus
Epstein-Barr virus (Infectious mononucleosis)
Human herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi sarcoma)
Herpes simplex virus
Human herpesvirus 6 (Roseola)
Adenovirus
Parvovirus B19
Hepatitis B and Hepatitis D virus
Human papillomavirus
Poxvirus (Smallpox and Molluscum contagiosum)
BK virus (Hemorrhagic cystitis)
JC virus (Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy)
Poliovirus
Coxsackievirus
Rhinovirus
Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E virus
Hepatitis B and Hepatitis D virus
Influenza virus
Mumps virus
Measles virus
Respiratory syncytial virus
Human parainfluenza viruses
Dengue virus
Yellow fever virus
Zika virus
Hepatitis C virus
West Nile virus
Norovirus
Rotavirus
Coronaviruses
HIV (AIDS)
Human T-lymphotropic virus
Ebola virus
Rabies virus
Rubella virus
Eastern and Western equine encephalitis virus
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus
Hantavirus
Prions (Spongiform encephalopathy)
Influenza virus
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2017
2016
influenza p. 165
antigenic variation p. 106
orthomyxovirus p. 163
pneumonia p. 645
Reye syndrome and p. 373
treatment/prevention p. 197
vaccine for p. 107, 158
influenza p. 165
influenza p. 165
Tanner Marshall, MS
Influenza, the virus that causes the flu, is one of the most common infectious diseases.
Now, there are three types of influenza that infect humans, called type A, type B, and type C, each one with slightly different genome and proteins.
Influenza belongs to the virus family Orthomyxoviridae - and type A and B have genomes that are made up of eight RNA segments, whereas type C, has a seven-segment RNA genome, with each segment containing a few genes.
Now, type A, the most common type of influenza virus, can be further subdivided based on two of the glycoproteins on its protective envelope surface; H protein, or Hemagglutinin, and N protein, or neuraminidase.
Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase can vary a bit in their structure, so different versions are identified by a number.
For example, type A subtype H3N2, sometimes just called H3N2, has hemagglutinin number 3 and neuraminidase number 2 on its surface.
H3N2 and H1N1 are the most common type A subtypes to infect humans, but they both also infect various animals.
To give the full name of a virus, we use the type, the original host that it came from, the location where the virus was first identified, which is usually a city, the strain number, the year of origin, and—for type A influenza—the subtype named by the H and N glycoproteins.
For example, an H1N1 type A flu virus of duck origin from the province of Alberta, Canada, that is the 35th strain discovered in 1976 would be called A/duck/Alberta/35/76 (H1N1).
Type B influenza is less common, it only infects humans and doesn't mutate as often as type A.
Type B influenza only has a few types of H and N glycoproteins on its surface.
Therefore the naming pattern is similar to type A influenza without the H and N subtype included at the end or the host type, since it only infects humans.
For example, a type B virus found in Yamagata, Japan, which is the 16th strain discovered in 1988 would be called B/Yamagata/16/88.
Finally, there's type C influenza which is only one species, and is the least common and least likely to mutate of the three.
Influenza C usually causes mild disease in children, and unlike type B, it can affect both humans and pigs.
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