influenza

Pushing viruses over the error threshold

The capacity of RNA viruses to produce prodigious numbers of mutations is a powerful advantage. But remember that selection and survival must balance genetic fidelity and mutation rate. Many mutations are not compatible with viral replication. Consequently, if mutation rates are high, at some point accumulating base changes lead to lethal mutagenesis – the population …

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Influenza A/Mexico/2009 (H1N1) – Questions & Answers

Here are answers to questions sent to virology blog about the new strain of influenza H1N1 that continues to spread globally. Q: Are you aware of efforts to make the virus strain nomenclature more informative? Understanding what segments/genes are related historically and sequence wise to what is confusing  using the ‘serological’ definitions like H1N1. What …

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Influenza A/Mexico/2009 (H1N1) virulence and transmission

The influenza H1N1 outbreak in Mexico has been analyzed to provide information on the pandemic potential of the new virus strain. The estimates offer some insight into the transmissibility and severity of the virus but must be tempered with the understanding that there are still uncertainties about all aspects of the outbreak. Influenza incidence is …

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