Influenza virus-flow from insects to humans as causative for influenza seasonality
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HYPOTHESIS
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Influenza virus-flow from insects to humans as causative for influenza seasonality Albrecht Pfäfflin
Abstract Virus biomass outweighs human biomass, and insects biomass outweighs human biomass. Insects are regularly habited by viruses as well as humans, humans are further inhabited via insects. A model of viral flow is described and specified to explain influenza virus seasonality, which, in temperate climate, usually evolves when insects have mostly disappeared. With this hypothesis a coherent description of regular seasonal influenza and other seasonal respiratory virus infections in temperate climates is possible. The incidence of influenza under different circumstances e.g. temperature, humidity, or tropical conditions and different aspects like synchronicity of infections or in respect to evolutionary conditions do sustain this hypothesis if the behaviour of insects is considered. Keywords: Influenza, Insects, Seasonality, Virus, Evolution, Compartmentalization
Background Seasonality of influenza is not understood. The complex transmission behaviour of influenza is enigmatic [1]. The clock-like consistency of the winter incidence peaks of influenza virus in temperate climatic regions represents a strong example of seasonality in infectious disease [2]. Approaching this phenomenon via biomass of involved organisms, a flow may explain this phenomena. Influenza is considered a zoonosis. The reservoir of influenza virus are aquatic birds [3] which have usually enteral infections often without clinical signs. Influenza virus crosses species barriers from time to time and persists in the species (e.g. humans, dogs, horses) for a certain time in a seasonal manner, and is then eventually lost. Crossing species barriers leads eventually to pandemics [4] which are followed by seasonal epidemics. The question and focus of this paper is laid on the consecutive regular epidemics. When influenza virus has reached humans and persists there, it disappears during off-season but re-emerges regularly. The question is, where does the virus persist during the off-season time Correspondence: [email protected] Labor Prof. Dr. G. Enders MVZ GbR, Zentrallabor, Hirschlandstr. 97, Esslingen 73730, Germany
of more than 6 months? Several molecular studies suggesting a lack of influenza virus persistence in the offseason in temperate areas [5, 6]. The reintroduction of influenza virus is thought to involve the importation from a locality either in the alternate hemisphere where the influenza season is current, or from the tropics where low levels of virus may circulate year-round, particularly the densely populated regions of East and South-East Asia [7, 8]. However, in this paper, an alternative view is proposed. Hypothesis for influenza seasonality via viral-flow
In this model, insects serve as a buffer for influenza virus. If insects are intact, they enclose virus particles preventing these particles to reach humans. If insects deteriorate, virus particles are set free, and humans are infected. So,
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