ABSTRACT

The A influenza virus is a virus with segmented RNA genome which easily undergoes drift and shift mutations, thus forming new A influenza virus subtypes. All A influenza virus comes from fowls, then slowly undergoes mutation, enabling it to infect humans. H1N1, H3N2 and H2N2 are subtypes of influenza virus on humans from generation to generation. Those three subtypes have had the chance of causing pandemics all over the world. Lately new virus subtypes emerged such as: H9N2, H7N7, H2N1, and H5N1 that sporadically infect humans, all of which feared as pandemic causes in the future because they have never mass infected the human population, aside from they (H5N1, H9N2, and H7N7) are more pathogenic than the others. Until present time there is no evidence of human to human infection. Nevertheless, we must stay alert by performing tight surveillance to prevent the virus from causing pandemics all over the world.

Keywords: A influenza virus, new influenza virus subtype on humans, mutation