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Swine Flu Crossover?

Scientists are baffled and deeply concerned about the recent outbreak of swine flu for two reasons: It seems to birds, swine and human viruses in a way that hasn’t be seen, and it spreads from person to person . Although pig influenza is known to occasionally infect humans, is usually in the rare cases where the virus jumps from pigs to humans, directly to animals such as pig farmers.

Not all are deadly pandemic, and it is not clear whether the current swine influenza infected humans could be the start of a global epidemic. However, the World Health Organization is concerned that insufficient attention expert panel, it can recommend whether to increase the tender for the global pandemic.

New virus strains emerge through a process of antigenic shift, occurs, or if at least two viruses combine. This can happen when a cell is infected with two influenza viruses and some of their genes are exchanged during replication.

New viruses, which in this way – through antigenic shift – in the past as guilty as pandemics infect stocks, which no immunity against the novel error. Pandemics of the past, like what is happening in 1957 in Asia, and others in 1968 in Hong Kong, came from flu viruses in birds.

In recent years, public health professionals are afraid of the possible pandemic of H5N1 bird flu has moved from poultry to humans and killed several hundred people since 2003.

Wayne Ellis:
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