In a recent study of influenza virus reassortment in ferrets, the authors used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to search for viruses with RNA segments from the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain and seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 strains. I thought you might like to see how I did a similar experiment in 1979 – a very different …
There has been a great deal of discussion about the use of adjuvants to improve the immunogenicity of vaccines against the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza strain. What effect do these compounds have on the immune response? Adjuvants are compounds added to vaccines that stimulate the immune response. They are often used when the antigen is …
The second RNA segment of the influenza virus genome encodes the PB1 protein – part of the viral RNA polymerase – and, in some strains, a second protein called PB1-F2. The latter protein is believed to be an important determinant of influenza virus virulence. The absence of a full-length PB1-F2 protein has been suggested as …
In temperate climates, influenza displays distinct seasonality: infections mainly occur from November through March in the northern hemisphere, and from May to September in the southern hemisphere. The results of experiments in guinea pigs have revealed that aerosol transmission of influenza virus is most efficient in cold and dry conditions, and completely blocked at warm …
Although many viruses are classified into individual families based on a variety of physical and biological criteria, they may also be placed in groups according to the type of genome in the virion. Over 30 years ago virologist David Baltimore devised an alternative classification scheme that takes into account the nature of the viral nucleic …
Simplifying virus classification: The Baltimore system Read More »
Recently while driving north on the New York State Thruway I passed the exit for the town of Coxsackie, NY (population 8,884). I grabbed my camera and photographed the exit sign, and reminded myself to write about the virus named after this small town. In the summer of 1947 there were several small outbreaks of …
