Viruses Are a Stubborn Mechanism

Viruses are a stubborn mechanism of spreading disease. Viruses rarely die off, but rather go dormant for periods of time only to emerge and spread causing pandemics for new generations of people. Such is the case with the H1N1 or swine flu. This virus was originally discovered in humans in 1918 where it was also discovered to be able to mutate rapidly causing further global pandemics in both 1957 and 1968 (Girard, 2010). This virus, which originated in swine, traveled from Europe where it had been common among animals for centuries (Girard, 2010).

Since then, it has adapted to humans and caused multiple pandemics through its unique ability to adapt and combine with other virus strains (Michaelis, 2009). It is exceptionally rare for a virus to mutate from animals to humans. In fact, it is a very complex adaptation that a virus must make. The primary reason, according to disease specialists as to why this happens, is the presence of the virus is concentrated amounts of animals, specifically commercially farmed animals (Schmidt, 2009).

The theory is that under such tight conditions, viruses spread rapidly and mutate just as rapidly, reinfecting the same animals over and over again. After awhile, those working with the animals are exposed to the virus so many times that the virus finally picks up enough human DNA to mutate and move into a new host (Schmidt, 2009). Once this happens, the virus is able to spread quickly among people, who have zero immunity to this new viral strain (Schmidt, 2009).

The strangest thing about the swine flu as opposed to other viruses is that it has remained stored in pigs and continually reoccurs, causing repeated outbreaks in humans, but causing little, if any, effects in pigs (Schmidt, 2009). Overall, the spread of this virus is always of alarm to Tennessee state health officials. This paper will provide background information on the H1N1 virus and analyze the complications which occurred during the 2010 outbreak in Tennessee.

Nature of the Problem Swine flu (H1N1) or Spanish flu as it was once called, originated in the 1700's. Prior to 1918 it was known that humans caught the disease on occasion, but the actual root of the disease was known (Zimmer, 2009). In 1918, however, the disease appeared simultaneously in both humans and swine. This strain of H1N1 resulted in 30 million casualties due to the severe respiratory issues caused by the virus (Zimmer, 2009).

The connection was further proven in 1933 by Robert Shope who cured test pigs infected with the disease by injected the sick animals with human serum containing the flu antibodies (Garcia-Sastre, 2006). This breakthrough was a vital first step to the later.