H1N1 updateScientists track H1N1 virus for small changes which may mean big problems
Published 2 November 2009
A team at the University of California-San Francisco is using cutting-edge technology to track tiny genetic changes in H1N1 virus samples from around the word; what the scientists are worried about is a big change called genetic “shift,” when there is a dramatic re-assortment and exchange of strands of genetic material that trigger hard-to-predict epidemic trajectories
As the H1N1 flu virus spreads at breakneck speed, a team of California scientists are close behind. They are watching its evolution through a cutting-edge technology in hopes of answering the question: Where did it come from — and where is it going?
Their lab at the University of California-San Francisco holds a growing international collection of viral samples, including some from San Jose swabbed from the noses of sick people, since the first days of the H1N1 epidemic. Genetic analysis of each sample will alert researchers to any tiny change that would create a giant problem.
San Jose Mercury News’s Lisa Krieger writes that, so far, the H1N1 virus seems to be evolving slowly, but a small mutation could create resistance to drugs.
The scientific sleuths are most worried about a big genetic leap — such as in 1918, when a mild virus turned deadly, killing 20 million to 40 million people. If such a leap does happen, the lab hopes to detect it early, triggering more aggressive treatment, quarantining and prevention measures.
Locked inside a large, $14,000 freezer, kept at 110 degrees below zero, are trays of plastic vials holding specimens of the H1N1 virus from California, Canada, and Mexico. Some of the viruses came from dead patients; others caused merely an annoying cough. “So far, we have no evidence that this virus is any more virulent than seasonal flu,” said Dr. Charles Chiu, director of the Viral Detection and Discovery Center.
Instead, what seems to matter is the immune response of the infected person; while some people shrug it off, others go into lethal overdrive. There is also new evidence suggesting that co-infection with another virus, such as the common cold, may worsen illness. “What we’re worried about is the possibility, because it is a fundamentally new virus, that it may mutate into a strain that is more virulent,” said Chiu.
The ambition of the new center, just a half block from AT&T Park, is to hunt down viruses whose identities and origins baffle doctors. Its team wants to understand these mystery viruses at the most essential level: the sequence of its genes.
Krieger writes that upon opening in January, one of the center’s first projects was to study H1N1. Its first specimen, from a young girl in Mexico, is now known to be one of
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