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. 2010 Jan 7;49(4):332–338. doi: 10.1007/s12088-009-0059-0

Molecular events leading to the creation of a pandemic influenza virus

Shipra Sharma 1, Adarsh Mayank 1, Sunil K Lal 1,✉
PMCID: PMC3450189  PMID: 23100794

Abstract

Influenza A virus is a potent pathogen of annual respiratory illness with huge potential of causing occasional pandemics of catastrophic consequences. In April 2009, a novel, swine-origin influenza A H1N1/09 virus was identified in Mexico which continued to spread globally. This unique virus emerged from an avian, human, Eurasian swine viral strain and a North American swine strain belonging to the lineage of the 1930 swine virus. Till date H1N1/09 pandemic has been relatively mild and lacks the previously described molecular markers of influenza A pathogenicity and transmissibility. In this review, we will discuss the molecular and antigenic determinants of this virus and its designation as a low pathogenic strain, which carries the potential to develop into a devastating strain with subsequent mutations and reassortments.

Keywords: H1N1, Pandemic, Antigenic determinants, Pathogenicity

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