A - H1N1 AS THE VIRUS SPREADS I have carefully read the 'article by Prof. Mario Santangelo, Regional Minister of Health, Republic of 7 on the U.S. While I certainly share his appreciation to the staff of 'Ospedale Cotugno, are by no means in agreement with your observations regarding the flu virus originated from a new source swine. Prompted me to write what was said in the recent past by Prof. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Policy Research and Infectious Diseases' s University of Minnesota, at the 'outbreak of the virus' H5N1 bird flu "after that the pandemic occurs, many scientists will be held accountable for what they did or did not do to prevent it. " Prof. Mario Santangelo once again brings up the "reasons that are not scientifically documented" 's increase d' incidence (and mortality) in Naples and Campania as the cold, the concentration of population and even the youth of our population , incurring at this point in a big mistake because it is traced back to 'the absence of antibodies "because they do not come in contact with the' Asian or '58 's Hong Kong '68, both pandemic viruses that had certain similarities" (?) "with ' H1N1. " Allow me now to remember some basics about flu viruses.
's influence originates from animals birds, generally water, then go to' man through the "jump" in pigs. Promiscuity (not sure that erroneously attributed to the Neapolitans by the Deputy Minister Fazio) farms, as is the custom in Asia, then this step determines the spread. They had thus originated the 'English Flu (1918, H1N1), the' Asian (1957, H2N2), one of Hong Kong (1968, H3N2) and so on until the current one, the new influence of porcine origin (2009, H1N1 ). The older people have antibodies to the virus which have been in contact with the progress of 'age. Any subsequent contact with an influenza virus type A includes not only the production of specific antibodies, but also an increase in those directed toward the person who first viral influenza infection of the subject ("original antigenic sin").
For a type of influenza virus has a 'wide distribution, its characteristics must be such that it should escape neutralization by antibodies of' host and the surrounding population. Thus the epidemic manifestations can be verified with those viruses that adapt to the shortcomings of the antibody population. Therefore the changes in the influenza A virus be based around a sense of unity, in the 'scope of a principle and an evolutionary course, called "immunological drift or immunological steering.
L 'immunity to a particular virus, spread at a given time, involves progressively increasing difficulty in its further spread and create the selective advantage for some variant of the virus to multiply and spread. As a result, shortly after the 'appearance of a new type, the old forms disappear and the new family will become dominant for a period that generally covers 10-20 years, in which we witness, for the appearance of mutations, the in multiple viral subtypes.
Therefore, the influenza A virus shows an ability and a 'fitness for survival which is divided on the emergence of new viral forms that allow the virus to spread easily through peoples not yet immune to the new virus types. There is a potential risk of recombination with human influenza viruses (avian, not as stated by the "layman") already in circulation that could result in a variant virus capable of human to human transmission of aggressive and more harmful. Is unwarranted panic syndrome that often occurs through a misinformation or a lack of knowledge of the phenomenon. So no alarm because the number of victims is far inferior to other forms of influenza. In the latter finding is in full agreement with Professor Santangelo.
Republic
From Naples edition of 10 November 2009. _________________________________________
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read the unpublished
Finally, as regards the "Naples case" I can only reiterate what I said and your newspaper published in recent days (3, us) is in the national pages (page 4) that the Chronicle Naples (interview with Irene De Arcangelis): Since there has been an increase in mortality for the epidemic in Naples, has created some panic for this apparent oddity in Campania. First we need to know the laboratory of Virology of Cotugno is part of the surveillance on influenza virus as the only center recognized by the Ministry of Health for our region: this allows testing for the new influenza A/H1N1 and to correlate the diagnosis with the cases patients, as outpatients, and especially with all the serious cases that are brought, often terminally, at the same hospital. It is therefore reasonable to assume that for many deaths reported elsewhere in the meantime, and we refer of course to other regions, there is the same capacity and ability to correlate the virologic diagnosis for the cause of death, especially when the flu virus acts as a cofactor.
Unlike Mayor Rosa Russo Iervolino they can not explain "what is happening here," obviously is not his domain, the problem of 'over-diagnosis is resolved that the final label of the influenza A H1N1 is given to many patients diagnosed in the laboratory that would otherwise would not have shown it actually affects. Will Rogers said this phenomenon is widely known since it was designed for the IQ (intelligence quotient) of the inhabitants of 'Oklahoma migrated to California, and then reported in many other aspects that lead to false interpretations of statistical observations.
In conclusion, once again in such an important issue such as health, lack 's scientific authority at national, regional and local levels because, as is constant in our country does not pay the professionalism.
