Glossary
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Adjuvant - A substance used to increase the immune response to an antigen.
Amantadine - A older drug used to treat influenza. Many strains of influenza are resistant to this drug.
Amino acid residues - the building blocks of proteins.
Antibodies - Proteins produced by the immune system that recognize and bind to specific antigens. Antibodies target foreign proteins found in viruses and bacteria which can trigger their destruction.
Antigen - A molecule that stimulates an immune response.
Clade - A way of categorizing H5N1 viruses. Viruses that are in the same clade have similar, but not necessarily identical, genomic sequences. See also, subclade.
Cytokine storm - inappropriate and damaging production of cytokines, immune system proteins, in response to an infection. This is considered to be a major cause of pathology from both the 1918 pandemic virus and H5N1.
Cordon sanitaire - use of military force to prevent anyone from leaving a city or region where infections are occurring.
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) - Part of the United Nations. The purpose of the FAO is decrease hunger and improve nutrition by helping developing countries modernize their agriculture.
Genome - The complete nucleotide sequence of an organism's genetic material.
Hand Hygeine - Proper cleaning of hands to avoid transferring virus from a surface to one's face.
H5N1 - The strain of virus causing most cases of lethal bird flu. This strain is thought by many to be the most likely to cause a pandemic.
Isolation - requiring that an infected patient remain separated from susceptible persons, usually at a hospital.
Movement restrictions - restricting movements of people to prevent the spread of infection. May include isolation, quarantine, closing public places, shelter-in-place, screening of passengers, travel restrictions and cordon sanitaire.
Mutation - A change in the nucleotide sequence of the genetic material of an organism. See Random Mutation, Reassortment, and Recombination for more information.
Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPI) - techniques for mitigating a pandemic that do not involve vaccines or antivirals. Examples include, closing schools, Shelter-in-Place, quarantines and travel restrictions.
Organisation Mondiale de la Santé Animale (OIE) - In English, the World Organisation for Animal Health. The purpose of the OIE is to fight animal diseases.
Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) - A neuraminidase inhibitor used both to prevent and treat influenza. It is considered the most effective drug in treating bird flu. See also Tamiflu.
Pandemic Flu - A flu virus for which humans have no previous experience. This type of flu is likely to cause many people to become ill.
Polymorphism - A difference in the genetic material of two or more flu viruses (see also Single Nucleotide Polymorphism).
Quarantine - requiring that someone exposed to an infected patient remain in their home or another location until it has been determined that they have not been infected.
Reassortment - Can occur when one animal is infected by two different strains of influenza virus. If these two different strains mix in a cell, they can exchange one or more of their eight genetic segments resulting in a virus that may have characteristics from each of the "donor" strains. See Random Mutation, Reassortment, and Recombination for more information.
Recombination - In a general sense, can mean any exchange of genetic material between different viruses. However, is used to specify an exchange of a subset of nucleotides of one genomic segment. See Random Mutation, Reassortment, and Recombination for more information.
Respirators (N95, N99, N100) - Face coverings designed to protect the wearer from small particles including infectious diseases. The number after the "N" describes the percent of small particles expected to be excluded from the air breathed by the wearer of the respirator.
RT-PCR - Reverse transcriptase - polymerase chain reaction. A method that has been used to test for the presence of H5N1. Viral RNA is reverse transcribed to cDNA and amplified by PCR using H5N1 specific primers.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - A respiratory disease caused by a novel corona virus that killed 774 people between November 2002 and July 2003.
Seasonal Flu - A flu virus which infects humans every year. H3N2 is an example of a seasonal flu virus.
Serology - Literally, study of the blood serum. Often refers to examination of the blood for the presence of specific antibodies which would indicate a specific infection at some point in the past.
Seroprevalence - the percent of a given population with antibodies against a specific pathogen such as H5N1. This measurement can be used to estimate how many people have been exposed to the H5N1 virus.
Shelter-In-Place (SIP) - remain in your home or installation for the duration of a pandemic wave.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) - A change in one nucleotide between two or more flu virus genomes.
Spanish influenza - A flu virus which caused a pandemic in 1918. It is thought that it killed over 100 million people, world-wide.
Sublcade - A way of categorizing H5N1 viruses. Viruses within the same subclade are very closely related to each other are not necessarily identical. A subclade is a subdivision of Clade.
Surgical masks - Face coverings designed to prevent a health care worker or patient from spreading their germs to others. They are not designed to protect the wearer from infectious diseases.
Travel restrictions - restricting travel to locations with infections. May include outright bans.
Tamiflu - A neuraminidase inhibitor used both to prevent and treat influenza. It is considered the most effective drug in treating bird flu. See also Oseltamivir.
TEOTWAWKI - acronym for The End Of The World As We Know It. Commonly used to refer to effect of a flu pandemic with a very high fatality rate.
Vaccine - Proteins from the flu virus are introduced into humans or animals. These proteins stimulate a response which allow the host's immune system to respond rapidly to a flu infection.
Zanamivir (Relenza) - A drug used both to prevent and treat influenza. It is a neuraminidase inhibitor. Must be administered by inhalation. Suggested as a possible treatment for bird flu.