We’ve briefly considered the structure of influenza virions and how the viral RNAs can encode one or more proteins. Now we’ll consider how influenza viruses multiply. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites: they cannot reproduce outside of a cell. The production of new infectious particles must take place within a cell. Upon entering cells, viruses parasitize …
Here is an update on the global swine flu situation as of 4 May 2009, and comments on interesting unresolved questions. There have been laboratory confirmed cases of infection in over half of the United States (30), with a total of 226 cases and the one death in Texas last week. Globally, 20 countries have …
Marc Pelletier of Futures in Biotech and Vincent Racaniello of This Week in Virology discussed the current influenza situation in a live video broadcast hosted on the TWiT network this past Friday. We are very grateful to Leo LaPorte and the TWiT network for providing the video feed for the show. The audio was recorded …
Here are my answers to questions about the currently circulating influenza H1N1 strain (formerly swine flu) sent by readers of virology blog. Q: I am concerned about any changes the current AH1N1 virus may undergo as we enter the flu season in the Southern Hemisphere, and when it gets to Indonesia and faces H5N1. What …
Influenza A/Mexico/2009 (H1N1): Questions and answers Read More »
On episode #30 of the podcast “This Week in Virology”, Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Hamish Young focus on the new H1N1 influenza virus, which originated in swine and is likely to be the next pandemic strain. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV030.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #30 or subscribe in iTunes or …
The second RNA segment of the influenza virus genome encodes two proteins, PB1 and PB1-F2. The latter protein is believed to be an important determinant of virulence of influenza virus. Can we learn anything about the virulence of the new influenza virus H1N1 strains from a study of this protein? During influenza virus infection, PB1-F2 …
Influenza A/Mexico/2009 (H1N1): Absence of crucial virulence marker Read More »
