Influenza Part 15
Influenza Viruses are viruses within the family of Orthomyxoviridae. They are capable of infecting the human respiratory tract and also the respiratory tract of many other animals. In a healthy human they often just infect the upper respiratory tract and produce what we would call either a cold or the flu, depending on how bad the symptoms are. However in vulnerable individuals the infection can spread down into the lower parts of the respiratory tract (i.e. the airways) causing viral bronchitis and in really unfortunate cases they can infect the lung tissue itself causing viral pneumonia. In these two latter cases the infection can be life threatening and can result in death either through sepsis or through respiratory failure. In this video we discuss in detail the structure of the influenza virus and its replication cycle within cells of the respiratory epithelium. We then look at the immune response to influenza and piece everything together for a complete story of it’s pathogenesis, starting from transmission to recovery or death. We end the video by discussing the mechanism of action of some of the antiviral drugs that can be used to treat influenza, including oseltamivir (tamiflu), zanamivir (relenza), amantadine and rimantadine.
Influenza Viruses are viruses within the family of Orthomyxoviridae. They are capable of infecting the human respiratory tract and also the respiratory tract of many other animals. In a healthy human they often just infect the upper respiratory tract and produce what we would call either a cold or the flu, depending on how bad the symptoms are. However in vulnerable individuals the infection can spread down into the lower parts of the respiratory tract (i.e. the airways) causing viral bronchitis and in really unfortunate cases they can infect the lung tissue itself causing viral pneumonia. In these two latter cases the infection can be life threatening and can result in death either through sepsis or through respiratory failure. In this video we discuss in detail the structure of the influenza virus and its replication cycle within cells of the respiratory epithelium. We then look at the immune response to influenza and piece everything together for a complete story of it’s pathogenesis, starting from transmission to recovery or death. We end the video by discussing the mechanism of action of some of the antiviral drugs that can be used to treat influenza, including oseltamivir (tamiflu), zanamivir (relenza), amantadine and rimantadine.