Transmissions of the Influenza Virus

Transmissions of the Influenza Virus

The Influenza Virus is a common virus that, if left untreated, can be fatal. Many people are diagnosed with influenza without coming into contact with another infected person. This brings up the issue as to how they became infected themselves. This question is useful not only for the influenza virus but other common viruses.

Because the influenza virus is an enveloped virus, it isn’t able to survive in the environment for long. Non-enveloped viruses survive in the environment for an extremely long time but were found to be less contagious than enveloped viruses on certain surfaces. But because of their highly contagious states, the little time enveloped viruses survive in the environment allows for the virus to be passed to another host.

Humans contaminated with influenza can spread the virus through small droplets of aerosol produced from breathing and speaking. The spread of the human influenza A/Panama/2007/1999 (H3N2) virus was 100% effective in the experiment while the A/Texas/36/1991 (H1N1) virus was less prone to spread. The experiments in this article help lead to the conviction of airborne viruses in the public.

Day care centers, public transit, homes, and more are susceptible to viruses. With the high possibility of catching the influenza virus through its airborne capabilities, people must take care in keeping public places clean and sanitary. Using the guinea pig experiments as a model, the public can take into consideration the cause of influenza spread and take actions to counteract it.

Work Cited:

Mubareka, Samira; Lowen, Anice C.; Steel, John; Coates, Allan L.; García-Sastre, Adolfo; Palese, Peter. “Transmission of Influenza Virus via Aerosols and Fomites in the Guinea Pig Model.” http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/199/6/858.full J Infect Dis. (2009) 199(6): 858-865 doi:10.1086/597073