IMMUNITY

An attack of influenza confers effective protection

for one or two years, due to antigenic variations.

Humoral immunity: 1.depends on local
concentration of anti- hemagglutinin and to smoller
extent anti-naminidase antibodies (mainly IgA)
2.when an individual experiances reapeated virus
type A he responds by forming antibodies not only
against each infecting strain but also against the
strain that he first came in contact with.
3.original antigenic sin
Cell mediated immunity

EPIDEMIOLOGY
Reservoir Human , animals (type A only)
Transmission Respiratory probably airborne
Temporal pattern Peak December-march in

temperate climate . May occur earlier or later

Communicability 1 day before to 5 days
after onset (adults)

Name of
Pandemi
c

Date

Deaths

Case
fatality
rate

Subtype
involved

Pandemi
c
severity
index

1889-90
flu
pandemic
(Asian/
Russian
Flu)

18891890

1 million

0.15%

Possibly
H3N8
/H2N2

N/A

1918 flu
pandemic
(Spanish
flu)

19181920

20 to 100
million

2%

H1N1

Asian flu

19571958

1 to 1.5
million

0.13%

H2N2

Hong

1968-

0.75 to 1

<0.1%

H3N2

 1957: Asian strain H2N2-china origin

1968: Hong Kong H3N2
1977: Red flu china & rassia under 20 age

group affected H1N1

Ability to cause epidemics &

pandemics
Antigenic drift mutation due to presence of antisera

to previous strain
Antigenic shift involves different polypeptide
simultanously. So can directly spread from avian
reservoir to human or as a result of re-combination
between human & non-human strains
Hybrids can be produced by growing human & nonhuman strain together in egg.
Recombinants are produced by exposeing animal to
mixed infection.
Eg 1957 Asian virus & 1968 Hong Kong virus are
recombinant hybrids.