fantastic voyage

Written By

Daniel Harrington

The life cycle of influenza

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P.O.V. ISOMETRIC VIEW

Influenza or the flu as it is more commonly known is a highly contagious viral infection.

The influenza virus is extremely small and is only visible through electron microscope.

The virus is protected by a hard protein shell which provides a strong protective casing for the viruses genetic material as the virus travels between hosts.

An outer envelope allows the virus to infect cells by merging with the cells outer membrane. Projecting from the envelope are spikes of protein molecules known as N spikes and H spikes.There are 17 known types of H Spikes and nine types of N spikes that scientist use to name different influenza virus such as the virus h5n1.

When a infected host, talks cough or sneezes they spread droplets which contain the virus.

These droplet containing the virus can ever be contracted by the initial airborne spread or by touching a object which they may have landed on.

When these droplet then come in contact with a health host they then gain access to the body by a healthy host touching there nose, mouth or face. When the virus comes in contact with these areas it makes it way into the new hosts

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lungs, once inside a healthy host (CONT'D)

body.

The virus starts to infect the cells within the lungs, nose and throat. It does this by using the H spikes like a key to gain access to the host cells. These spikes also allow copies of the viruses to break away and infect more cells.After the h spike has made contact and the virus has made it into the host cell the virus then travels in side a sack made from the host Cells membrane to the cells nucleus, then the viral envelope and cell membrane sack combine, allowing the viral genetic material to leave the sack and enter the nucleus.

The viral genetic material hijacks the energy and material in the host cells nucleus. It uses this to make thousands of copies of itself some of the genetic material moves out of the nucleus, then attaches itself to the host cells ribosomes, which are protein building parts of the host cells.

The ribosomes use information from the genetic material to make other viral protein, such as the agent and packaging structure in your cell, called the Golgi. An apparatus which carries the HNN spikes in vesicles which merged with the host cells membrane. They are all the parts needed to create a new virus which are all gathered just under the host cells membrane. As a new virus starts to break off from the cellos membrane during this process the newly created virus gets stuck on your cells membrane, due to the viral H spikes ability to lock onto cells

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receptors. However the virus has a (CONT'D)

way around this problem. The viral spike freeze and the virus cuts itself away from from this receptor and now the new virus is free to infect more host cells and cause the host to develop the flu

P.O.V. ISOMETRIC VIEW The influenza virus attacks your nose and throat and cause meucuse to build and also can cause chills, runny nose, sore throat, muscles to ache and fatigue. If a doctor thinks that you may have the flu they may prescribe you some anti-viral drugs that stop the influenza by blocking the viral and H spike from freeing the virus. This causes the new viruses to stick to the surface of the cell so they cannot escape and infect more cells.

The best way to protect yourself from the flu is to get a vaccine every year which contains several dead versions of the virus. This exposure to these dead virus can stimulate an immune response in your immune system and cause it to make anti-bodies. Anti-bodies are specific to the type of flu you where exposed to. These antibodies attach to more than one flu virus and causes the virus to clump together, triggering your immune system to respond to signals from the antibodies by engulfing and destroying the club of viruses. Later if you are exposed to these types of flu again your body recognizes and destroys them so you will not develop the flu from the same viruses. To continued protection against new flu viruses you will need to get a flu vaccine every year.