Vijayalakshmidevi
Since the fall season begins, we are worried about getting flu despite COVID infections. Have you ever wondered what causes flu and it is hard to find a complete cure? The influenza A (H1N1) virus that appeared in 2009 caused the first global influenza pandemic in more than 40 years. The virus is much smaller than bacteria. The viruses cannot grow and reproduce themselves without a host of living organisms. Whenever we get any illness, we have a habit of popping over-the-counter antibiotics. But that does not work with the virus. Antibiotics are designed to target the bacterial surface receptors and strong antigen and antibody interactions are necessary to kill the pathogen. Since the viral structure is entirely different from bacteria hence it’s unnecessary to take antibiotics when you get flu.
Why it is harder to kill viruses? The virus has a strong protein layer that protects itself from digestion by any enzymes and helps strongly adhere and inject the nucleic acids (genetic material) to the host cells. They also help to survive as inactive forms and are resistant to many environmental factors such as UV radiation, desiccation, heat, or freezing. We have heard that if a person gets an infection for a pathogen, he gets immunity to the specific disease by producing memory cells. But it will not work with flu because the person will have antibodies against the surface receptor of the earlier infected influenza. The virus has special characteristics to change their surface receptors by mutation through antigenic drift or shift mechanism on their surface. Hence the human immune system does not recognize the influenza virus by memory cells and treats them again as a new pathogen. The virus enters the respiratory tract of the human body in the form of aerosol or saliva from an infected person. The virus starts to grow and replicate in the respiratory tract and the immune response to the infection leads to damage in the cell lines of the respiratory tract. The person affected with flu may have the following symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headaches, and fatigue.
The symptoms vary according to the individual’s immunity. The persons with underlying disease conditions like asthma, heart disease, young children, and older adults are at risk. The virus was detected by using a rapid test kit within 15 minutes by detecting viral antigens in the patient’s sample. Drinking more water, warm broth, decongestant herbal tea, and the humidifier will soothe the patient’s respiratory tract. Antiviral drugs help to subside the viral infection. Some latest research found that Papaverine (an opiate alkaloid isolated from the plant Papaver somniferum) was found to be an effective inhibitor of multiple strains of influenza virus. The vaccine is upgraded every year according to the changes seen in the viral structure seen in the patient’s sample. However, these vaccines are effective against homologous viruses.
Therefore, chemical technologies use chitosan, plant polysaccharides, and virus-like particles used to improve the vaccine. In addition, recent research tried to develop a universal viral vaccine through biomimetic nanoparticles and bring heterosubtypic protection. These strategies with multidisciplinary collaboration are promising to make advances of modern vaccinology to address pandemic virus infections.