I love Podcasts. Listened to this one about the 1918 Spanish Flu to, you know, impress the interviewee. I wish I could make podcasts. Since I don’t know how to, this is what I managed while talking to some scientists to find out “what vaccine they would be”.
Sweety Samal is a Virologist, and she would be a flu shot. I happened to catch up with her, when, unfortunately for me, she is nearing a deadline (whispering, this last part). So, I have to keep it short.
The Virologist quipped: And quick!
Me: If you could be any vaccine, which one will you be?
The Virologist: I would fight the Influenza viruses.
Me: Plural? I said.
The Virologist: You bet!
The Virologist (explained): Influenza is caused by three groups of the RNA containing viruses of the Orthomyxoviridae family – Type A, Type B, Type C. A and B can make you ill (like, really sick) and have caused many outbreaks and epidemics. Type A mutates quickly and is common in India.
The Virologist: Why would you need me, you ask?
Me (still getting my head around Orthomyxoviridae): Sure.
The Virologist:
Ear infections.
Sinus infections.
Dehydration.
Worse if you have had heart failure, asthma, diabetes.
Your young ones might have vomiting or diarrhea.
Me: Does everyone need you?
The Virologist: If you go to a school, college, nursing home, markets, or if you are living in a crowded place, you can catch the virus. And then we can catch up (evil grin).
Me: Oh, I am safe, then. And now on, online marketing, it is.
The Virologist: Don’t you take the bus and metro every day?
Me: Woah! How on earth?!
The Virologist: When an infected person coughs, infected droplets get into the air, and another person can breathe them in and be exposed. The virus can also be spread by hands contaminated with influenza viruses.
Me: How do I NOT catch the virus?
The Virologist:
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you have to cough.
Wash your hands more often.
Me: Umm, you are a virologist. A big word for “wash your hands” – don’t you think?
The Virologist: Yes, I know heard a lot of it recently! Public health experts have been saying that for years. And yes, get vaccinated, will you?!
[Having a difficult time uploading, it seems and rolling eyes at me]
Me: You can’t get them if you don’t know how they look?
The Virologist: I do know how they look. Well, mostly. Understanding how they look makes it easier to fight against them
[And there comes the “trust me, I am a virologist look”]
They have two proteins on the cell surface (ANTIGENS) called Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA). We know about sixteen subtypes of HA and nine subtypes of NA. I look for the subtype of HA and NA surface proteins on the virus to find out the strain of the influenza virus.
Me: How will you prepare to prevent a virus attack?
I can be an Inactivated Vaccine where I am the virus, only dead (evil grin follows). Or I could be a Live Attenuated Influenza virus. The virus in me would be living, only weaker.
Me: Well, that’s pretty straight forward. Me? I’d have gone for a good challenge.
The Virologist: You know what’s a good challenge? These viruses are continuously changing. I get to adapt and become a new vaccine every year to keep up with the influenza strains circulating.
The Virologist (now loving the conversation and a little carried away, I’d say): I would also enjoy being the Influenza vaccine as I will travel a lot.
[There comes #wanderlust]
I will mostly visit before Monsoon sets into almost all of India. This is because Influenza peaks in India during the Monsoon. Come winters, and I get to go to the northern states of Jammu, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi.
Me: Huh! Good to know. Don’t you have a grant submission deadline today? And then a culture to work on? And then a meeting with the Director to go?
The Virologist: Think we are done here.
With that, I stepped out of her lab (had to) and overheard this.
The virus: Sighed. What did I ever do to you it said!
The Virologist: 1918 1930 1957 1968 2009 You want me to go on?
P.S: The Virologist has met the deadline. I hear meeting with the Director went well. Cultures?! We don’t speak about them.