Types of Influenza A Virus - H1N1

The influenza virus is an RNA virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae, which comprises five genera: Influenzavirus A, Influenzavirus B, Influenzavirus C, Isavirus, Thogotovirus.

Influenza A virus strains are categorized according to two viral proteins, hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). All influenza A viruses contain hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, but the structure of these proteins differs from strain to strain due to rapid genetic mutation in the viral genome. Influenza A virus strains are assigned an H number and an N number based on which forms of these two proteins the strain contains.

The type A viruses are the most virulent human pathogens among the three influenza types and cause the most severe disease. The influenza A virus can be subdivided into different serotypes based on the antibody response to these viruses. The serotypes that have been confirmed in humans, ordered by the number of known human pandemic deaths, are:
* H1N1, which caused Spanish flu in 1918 and has been identified as the serotype of the 2009 outbreak of swine flu originating from Mexico (see 2009 swine flu outbreak)
* H2N2, which caused Asian Flu in 1957
* H3N2, which caused Hong Kong Flu in 1968
* H3N8, dog/equine flu
* H5N1, Avian Flu, a pandemic threat in the 2007–08 flu season
* H7N7, which has unusual zoonotic potential
* H1N2, endemic in humans and pigs
* H9N2
* H7N2
* H7N3
* H10N7

The word Influenza comes from the Italian language and refers to the cause of the disease; initially, this ascribed illness to unfavorable astrological influences. Changes in medical thought led to its modification to influenza del freddo, meaning "influence of the cold". The word influenza was first used in English in 1743 when it was adopted, with an anglicized pronunciation, during an outbreak of the disease in Europe. Archaic terms for influenza include epidemic catarrh, grippe (from the French), sweating sickness, and Spanish fever (particularly for the 1918 pandemic strain).

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