What are “swine flu” and “bird flu”?
An epidemic of swine flu has recently developed in Mexico and the United States, says the CDC. Swine flu has killed many people, and the outbreak has features that suggest it could become a global pandemic. A pandemic is an epidemic that spreads around the whole world. Pandemics also often cause more severe disease than epidemics.
If a pandemic happens, it could be very serious for human health and the global economy (which definitely does not need any more bad news right now).
Q: What are “swine flu” and “bird flu”?
A: Flu is a disease caused by the influenza virus. Humans, pigs, birds, and other animals all can be infected by influenza viruses. Typically, influenza viruses can infect only one species, so the influenza viruses of humans are different from those of pigs and birds. However, sometimes a virus can infect more than one species. For example, pigs sometimes can be infected not only with pig influenza viruses, but also with human and bird influenza viruses. Then these viruses can sidle up to one another and swap genes, creating new viruses that have a mix of genes—from human, pig, and bird viruses. That is what has happened with this new swine flu virus.
Sometimes this swapping of genes allows a virus that was originally able to infect only pigs or only birds to also infect humans. When that happens, we refer to the illness as “swine flu” or “bird flu.” This current virus could actually be called “swine/bird flu,” since it has some genes from pig flu viruses and other genes from bird flu viruses. However, for simplicity’s sake, it is just being referred to as “swine flu.”
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