Your task is to perform some basic research on influenza and present details on how this virus causes disease in patients. This assignment is worth 25 points and you will be graded on the following information:
✦ Present the morphology of influenza. What does it look like, what type of genetic material does it have, describe it’s replication cycle. What are the H and N proteins, where are they found and what do they do? 5 points.
✦ Present the epidemiology of influenza. How does this virus spread? How do people get infected with this virus? Are there at risk populations more susceptible to influenza infections, if so, why? Where does influenza come from? What are its reservoirs? 5 points
✦ Present the pathology of influenza. How does influenza cause disease? How does it induce the signs and symptoms seen in patients? What is genetic drift and shift and how do these concepts help explain the pathology of influenza? 10 points.
✦ Present a treatment for influenza. What treatment would you recommend for people infected with influenza? How does viral treatments work? What else can be done to protect people from viral infections? Why are flu shots needed every year? 5 points
