Antigenic Drift: How the Influenza Virus Adapts

Why do we need a flu vaccine every year? You might know that influenza virus changes. Find out more about these changes in this animation that describes the concepts of antigenic drift and shift. While our immune systems regularly protect us from viruses after vaccination or infection, influenza virus survives by mutating regularly. These small accumulating changes are called “antigenic drift.” Influenza virus can also undergo extreme mutations, such as when human and bird flu genes combine at random inside a pig cell. This is called “antigenic shift.” The dramatic changes caused by antigenic shift create a new flu virus — one with pandemic potential. Play a Kahoot! trivia game based on this animation. Visit http://www.vaccinemakers.org/trivia. Did you know that Dr. Maurice Hilleman was the first person to identify antigenic shift and drift? He was also the first person in history to predict and avert an influenza pandemic. This accomplishment earned Dr. Hilleman the American military’s Distinguished Service Medal. Watch a clip from the documentary, “HILLEMAN: A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children,” to learn more: https://youtu.be/d1HKc8LKcyY. Animation created by and for the Vaccine Makers Project. The Vaccine Makers Project gratefully acknowledges the ongoing collaboration and partnership with XVIVO, creator of medical animations and scientific media: https://xvivo.com. Copyright © 2016, Medical History Pictures, Inc. All rights reserved. The Vaccine Makers Project (VMP) is the classroom-based program of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC at CHOP). The Center’s team is composed of scientists, physicians, mothers and fathers devoted to the study and prevention of infectious diseases. The Center was launched in October 2000 to provide accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information about vaccines and the diseases they prevent. The VMP program is committed to public education about vaccine science via scientifically supported, historically accurate, and emotionally compelling content. Access the VMP’s free classroom materials: http://www.VaccineMakers.org. Find information and resources related to vaccines and their safety: http://vaccine.chop.edu. Learn more about the award-winning documentary for which the original animations were created. The documentary tells the compelling story of one of the world’s most accomplished scientists, Maurice Hilleman: http://www.HillemanFilm.com.