Hi
My name is Rotavirus
I'm from the Reoviridae family.
I am the most common cause of gastroenteritis in kids.
I love children under 4 four year old.
I am biggest in the colder seasons.
I cause diarrhoea.
I also give the kids fever, nausea and vomiting.
I'm very common, but don't let that fool you.
My diarrhoea can be severe.
I can kill if I'm not looked after.
Hi there.My name is NorovirusI'm a caliciviridea family virus.I used to be called Norfolk virus, after visiting the city of Norfolk.I cause gastroenteritis.I make people nauseous and sick.I am passed feaco-orally.I am also carried in food, especially seafood like oysters.I am busiest during the winter.I love places like schools, nursing homes and hospitals.
Hi, I'm Swine.
Or pig flu.
Or H1N1 Flu.
I'm an H1N1 Type A Influenza virus.
I was first found in humans in Mexico
I started in April.
I am in almost every country now.
I can pass between people.
I am in the news all the time now.I'm very famous.
Hi, I'm Bird or Avian flu,
But I'm not the only bird flu!
People called me that when they found me in people.
I was first noticed in 2003, around Thailand.
Many birds were killed to try to stop my spread.
So far, I have been found in about 400 people.
I killed over 200 of them.
I don't usually move from person to person.
Some people think I have started to.
I used to be in the news a lot.
People don't about me as much anymore.
Hi, I'm Hong Kong flu.
I started out as my 1957 friend.
In 1968 I went through antigen shift,
I then became H3N2 and spread.
I moved from China to Hong Kong.
I lasted for 2 years.
I was milder than my earlier flu friend.
Not as many people died.
I also came from mixing of human and bird strains.
Hi, I'm the H2N2 'Asian Flu'.
I am an Influenza A strain.I started in Guizhou, China in early 1957.
I moved to Singapore, Hong Kong, and then to the rest of the world.I hit the US and UK by the end of the year.I lasted to 1958.
My first wave hit school kids.My second wave hit the elderly.I was milder than my 1918 friend,
But I still managed to kill over a million people.
People made a vaccine against me.
I came from antigen shift between wild ducks and people.
I'm the influenza pandemic of 1918.
I was an influenza A virus H1N1 type flu.
I was called Spanish flu when I got to Spain early on.
In Spain I was called 'La Grippe'.
I had H1N1 that one no had seen before,
So no one was immune.
I spread all over the world at the end of WW1.
I went through the soldiers and then the rest of the world.
Some of my brother flu viruses killed the weak, the very young or very old.
I was deadliest to healthy young people.
I lasted for 2 years and killed 40 million people.
That's more than World War 1 and more than the black death!
Hi again, Flu here.
We flu viruses change in 2 ways.
The first is called antigen drift.
These are small changes to our Ha and Na pieces.
The old flu vaccines can't find our new looks.
So each year a new vaccine is needed.
The second is called antigen shift.
We jump between animals like birds or pigs.
We get ourselves brand new Ha or Na pieces,
so we look like brand new viruses.People usually don't have immunity to these new viruses.
This is one of ways we get 'influenza pandemics'
Hi, we are the Influenza Virus, or 'The Flu".
We are part of the Orthomyxoviridae family.
We come in types A, B and C.
We are one of the most well known viruses in the world.
We make you feel groggy and head heavy.
We cause cough, chills, fever, malaise and muscle aches.
We can also cause pneumonia.
We each have two special pieces of proteins.
These are Haemagglutinin (Ha) and Neuraminidase (Na).
Each piece has a number.
You can use these numbers to tell us apart.
We infect people, birds, horses and pigs.
This humble zoo keeper will be starting some flu-related posts with some special entries over the coming week. Stay tuned.
