The Orthomyxoviridae Virus Family: Influenza, Flu Shots, and More

When it's cold season, you'd be smart to get a u shot. This lesson will delve into in uenza pandemics, epidemics,
the bird u, the swine u, hemagglutinin, neuraminidase, and much more as we explore the members of the
Orthomyxoviridae virus family.

The Orthomyxoviridae Virus Family

This lesson pertains to everyone. And I mean everyone. There likely isn't a single person in the
world that hasn't at one point in their life been infected with at least one of the viruses in the
Orthomyxoviridae family. That's because this is the family of viruses that causes one of the most
famous conditions humans experience, one that has, at times, killed millions of people all over the
world. We'll get into that and more as we take a look at the Orthomyxoviridae structure, methods of
transmission and its famous diseases.

Orthomyxoviridae Structure and Transmission

The viruses in this family are enveloped and have a helical capsid that encloses a single-stranded
negative sense RNA genome, although it's important to note that these viruses may sometimes
appear as a sphere. The envelope has two important structures. The rst is called hemagglutinin,
commonly abbreviated as HA. With respect to viruses in this family, hemagglutinin is a glycoprotein
that helps a virus recognize and enter its host and serves as a target for antibodies that are trying
to kill the virus.

Basically, this glycoprotein helps the virus stick to the cell it wants to attack, or allows the immune
system's antibodies to stick to the virus the immune system wants to kill. Since the word
'agglutination,' in hemagglutinin, means to attach, or stick to something, you'll always remember
what hemagglutinin in viruses is for: It helps the virus to stick to a cell.

The second important structure is called neuraminidase, commonly abbreviated as NA. This is an
enzyme that allows a virus to be released from its host. Keep these two abbreviations, HA and NA,
in mind for the near future. While the viruses in this family can be spread through more than one
route, when it comes to the main viruses that a ect humans, without a doubt, the most important
route of transmission is the respiratory route, such as when someone sneezes or coughs and
another person inhales these secretions, only to be infected themselves.

Influenza, Flu, Swine and Pandemics

The most famous disease caused by the viruses in this family is called in uenza, the more
technical term for the u. I think that I don't really have to list the symptoms most people get from
the u since you've almost certainly had it yourself, but just in case you somehow lucked out, the
u typically causes a fever, muscle aches, fatigue, coughing, sneezing, congestion and an overall
really miserable time.

Most of the time, people recover from the u without a hitch. However, this wasn't the case in
something known as the 1918 u pandemic, which is also known as the 'Spanish u.' Just in case
you weren't aware, a pandemic is an epidemic that occurs over a wide area, such as multiple
continents or the entire world, while an epidemic is an outbreak of disease that a ects a
disproportionately higher number of individuals than normal.

The Spanish u was one such pandemic and ended up a ecting half a billion people and killing
upwards of 100 million people around the world in a three-year span. The speci c in uenza virus
that caused this pandemic is known as H1N1, and a slightly newer version of this virus caused the
2009 u pandemic, also known as the swine u.

Why You Need a Flu Shot Every Year

Hopefully, you recognized the HA and the NA in H1N1. The letters are there for a reason. The main
species of virus involved in the u is the in uenza A virus that is classi ed based on the type of
hemagglutinin or neuraminidase subtype that this virus genetically encodes for.

The problem is that u viruses love to constantly undergo something known as antigenic drift and
antigenic shift. The speci cs of how this occurs are covered in another lesson. But basically, these
mechanisms either cause slight variations in the HA and NA proteins, in the case of antigenic drift,
or massive variations in the HA and NA proteins, in the case of antigenic shift.

The variations in the HA and NA are there for a reason: They help the virus avoid your immune
system, thereby allowing it to spread among the population. Remember, your immune system can
only respond to something it has been exposed to before. Since antigenic shift and drift produce
new strains your body hasn't been exposed to before, you're more likely to get sick when infected
with the new viral strain, unless you've already been vaccinated against it.

For example, changes in in uenza A have created subtypes called H5N1 and the newer H7N9,
which are viruses that cause something known as avian in uenza, which is more commonly
referred to as the 'bird u.' These viral strains are typically only found in birds. However, humans
who have come into contact with live or dead birds carrying this virus have been known to become
infected. A far greater amount of people die if they contract the avian u than if they get the
seasonal u that most of us fall victim to.

This is mainly because little pre-existing immunity to these strains exists, compared to strains
associated with the seasonal u, but also because bird u has been shown to cause a lot more
in ammation in the human body, which can result in higher mortality rates. So, the reason a yearly
 u shot is recommended is so that the shot can boost your immune system for newly developed
strains for which you may have little or no immunity to.

Lesson Summary
For our summary, recall that antigenic drift and shift a ect two proteins located on the in uenza
virus. The rst is called hemagglutinin, which is a glycoprotein that helps a virus recognize and
enter its host and serves as a target for antibodies that are trying to kill the virus o . The second is
called neuraminidase, which is an enzyme that allows a virus to be released from its host.

The most famous disease caused by the viruses in the Orthomyxoviridae family is called in uenza,
which is the more technical term for the u. Most of the time, people recover from the u without a
hitch. However, this wasn't the case in something known as the 1918 u pandemic, which is also
known as the 'Spanish u.'

Just in case you weren't aware, a pandemic is an epidemic that occurs over a wide area, such as
multiple continents or the entire world, while an epidemic is an outbreak of disease that a ects a
disproportionately higher number of individuals than normal. The speci c in uenza virus that
caused the pandemic of 1918 is known as H1N1, and a slightly newer version of this virus caused
the 2009 u pandemic, also known as the 'swine u.' Finally, in uenza A has many other subtypes,
such as H5N1 and the newer H7N9, which are viruses that cause something known as avian
in uenza, which is more commonly referred to as the 'bird u.'

Learning Outcomes
After you've completed this lesson, you'll be able to:

Detail the structure of the Orthomyxoviridae virus family

Emphasize the importance of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase

Understand the meanings of antigenic drift and antigenic shift

Recognize the necessity of u shots

Relate the primary diseases caused by Orthomyxoviridae

Report on the 1918 H1N1 pandemic and the 2009 avian in uenza pandemic