What are the scientific name and other names for the H1N1-09 swine influenza?

Answer 1

A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)v-like virus is the name of the specific strain that is used to create the vaccines for the Pandemic A-H1N1/09 flu. See below for details on this scientific nomenclature.

One of the more commonly used original names for this pandemic flu was Influenza A, Novel H1N1 Virus (formerly 2009 Swine Flu) and was the name that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coined and used until they conformed with the World Health Organization (WHO) and began calling it H1N1/09 Pandemic Swine Flu.

It began being called the Pandemic H1N1/09 Virus by WHO in July 2009 and this is the more commonly used name in the US. And many scientific papers are using H1N1pdm (pdm to represent Pandemic).

It is an Influenza Virus type A, H1N1 is the subtype. As mentioned above, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization have called it Influenza A, Novel H1N1 Virus. You may also see it written as the "Novel H1N1 Influenza virus", or "Novel Influenza A, H1N1 virus."

What does the H1N1 part mean?:

These Type A viruses have a protein coating that surrounds them, called a capsid. The surface proteins making up the capsid in this virus strain are haemagglutinin and neuraminidase. These surface proteins are the proteins that can be changed when viruses mutate into new forms allowing them to attack the host cells in different ways and to evade the immunological system of the host.

In the naming convention of viruses, the protein classifications become part of the name as in H1N1; H for the haemagglutinin and N for the neuraminidase. There are different subtypes of viruses using the H and N nomenclature, for example the H5N1 subtype is the Avian (Bird) Flu.

Why change from Swine Flu?:

From a July 7, 2009 Press Briefing by World Health Organization's Dr. Fukuda, who said that WHO has decided to call Influenza A, Novel H1N1: Pandemic H1N1/09 Virus (although, as of early August 2009 this name is not yet being consistently used).

"As you know, since the emergence of the pandemic, the name of the virus has been a difficult issue for many reasons. In the past, we have seen how the naming of viruses by location can stigmatize those locations and we have also seen in this and in other episodes where associating the virus with one animal species or another, can really cause both anxiety and then fears about food and in this particular instance, about pork.

So, in recognition of those issues, what WHO, FAO and OIE did, actually some weeks ago, was to get together several of the experts who work in these organizations and with many of the laboratory experts who work with these organizations, and then we had a meeting - a virtual meeting - in which these issues were discussed and one of the things that we wanted to do was make sure that any naming of the virus was scientifically accurate but also would avoid any kind of adverse reactions to the name or to minimize those as much as possible. Based on those discussions, what the experts decided, calling this a pandemic H1N1/09 virus was a good way to distinguish it from the current seasonal H1N1 viruses and to do so, in a way which was scientifically sound, but also would avoid some of the stigma associated with other options."

The name in other countries:

In some countries they still call it Pig Flu, but usually when a virus is called Pig Flu it is in reference to the type of flu that hogs get, not the types that humans get such as the Novel H1N1/09 influenza (2009 Swine Flu). In some places around the world it is also still called the "Mexican Flu", and in France it is la grippe porcine. It is called Schweinegrippe in Germany, Mexican Flu in the Netherlands, SOIV (Swine Origin Influenza Virus) or H1N1-SOIV in Canada, and la epidemia in Mexico. In Turkey it is called "Domuz Gribi" which means "Pink ill". Other common names are Swine influenza, hog flu, pig flu, swine influenza virus (SIV), and H1N1.

Why Swine Flu in the first place?:

The original swine flu is known as influenza type A, H1N1. The new H1N1/09 Pandemic swine flu originated from a pig who had the original/normal pig flu and then this same pig caught the bird flu H5N1. These viruses combined to make a new and bad case of the flu, and this pig gave it to other pigs. Eventually, one of the pigs infected with the flu that was a combination of bird flu and pig flu, then caught the human flu, which "mixed together" in that pig with the other two types of viruses making an even worse case of the flu with all three types of genetic material. This pig spread that new "triple reassortant" virus to more pigs. When pigs with the triple reassortant virus came in close contact with a human, probably a farm worker, and the human caught this bad flu, from then on it has been spreading around the world. The name has stuck and so it is still called the Swine Flu, Swine Influenza, Hog Flu, and Pig Flu in some places to the chagrin of the Pork Producers Association. See the related question below about what caused the pandemic swine flu for more detail on how the reassortant process created the new strain of pandemic flu.

NomenclatureThe naming convention for virus strains such as the one used to produce the pandemic A-H1N1/09 vaccine [ A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)v-like virus ] is explained below. Using this example of a name of a specific viral subtype/strain: A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virusA = Type A influenza. There are three types of influenza: A, B, and C.

California = The location the strain was first identified.

7 = The strain identification number.

2009 = The year the strain was identified.

H1N1 = The antigenic characterization of the H and N proteins.

[Antigenic characterization is a method used to describe influenza proteins neuraminidase (N) and hemagglutinnin (H) and how they have changed.]

(See "What Caused the 2009 Swine Flu" in related questions below.)

Answer 2

A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)v-like virus is the name of the specific strain that is used to create the vaccines for the Pandemic A-H1N1/09 flu. See below for details on this scientific nomenclature.

One of the more commonly used original names for this pandemic flu was Influenza A, Novel H1N1 Virus (formerly 2009 Swine Flu) and was the name that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coined and used until they conformed with the World Health Organization (WHO) and began calling it H1N1/09 Pandemic swine flu.

It began being called the Pandemic H1N1/09 Virus by WHO in July 2009 and this is the more commonly used name in the US. And many scientific papers are using H1N1pdm (pdm to represent Pandemic).

It is an Influenza Virus type A, H1N1 is the subtype. As mentioned above, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization have called it Influenza A, Novel H1N1 Virus. You may also see it written as the "Novel H1N1 Influenza virus", or "Novel Influenza A, H1N1 virus."

What does the H1N1 part mean?:

These Type A viruses have a protein coating that surrounds them, called a capsid. The surface proteins making up the capsid in this virus strain are haemagglutinin and neuraminidase. These surface proteins are the proteins that can be changed when viruses mutate into new forms allowing them to attack the host cells in different ways and to evade the immunological system of the host.

In the naming convention of viruses, the protein classifications become part of the name as in H1N1; H for the haemagglutinin and N for the neuraminidase. There are different subtypes of viruses using the H and N nomenclature, for example the H5N1 subtype is the Avian (Bird) Flu.

Why change from Swine Flu?:

From a July 7, 2009 Press Briefing by World Health Organization's Dr. Fukuda, who said that WHO has decided to call Influenza A, Novel H1N1: Pandemic H1N1/09 Virus (although, as of early August 2009 this name is not yet being consistently used).

"As you know, since the emergence of the pandemic, the name of the virus has been a difficult issue for many reasons. In the past, we have seen how the naming of viruses by location can stigmatize those locations and we have also seen in this and in other episodes where associating the virus with one animal species or another, can really cause both anxiety and then fears about food and in this particular instance, about pork.

So, in recognition of those issues, what WHO, FAO and OIE did, actually some weeks ago, was to get together several of the experts who work in these organizations and with many of the laboratory experts who work with these organizations, and then we had a meeting - a virtual meeting - in which these issues were discussed and one of the things that we wanted to do was make sure that any naming of the virus was scientifically accurate but also would avoid any kind of adverse reactions to the name or to minimize those as much as possible. Based on those discussions, what the experts decided, calling this a pandemic H1N1/09 virus was a good way to distinguish it from the current seasonal H1N1 viruses and to do so, in a way which was scientifically sound, but also would avoid some of the stigma associated with other options."

The name in other countries:

In some countries they still call it Pig Flu, but usually when a virus is called Pig Flu it is in reference to the type of flu that hogs get, not the types that humans get such as the Novel H1N1/09 influenza (2009 Swine Flu). In some places around the world it is also still called the "Mexican Flu", and in France it is la grippe porcine. It is called Schweinegrippe in Germany, Mexican Flu in the Netherlands, SOIV (Swine Origin Influenza Virus) or H1N1-SOIV in Canada, and la epidemia in Mexico. In Turkey it is called "Domuz Gribi" which means "Pink ill". Other common names are Swine influenza, hog flu, pig flu, swine influenza virus (SIV), and H1N1.

Why Swine Flu in the first place?:

The original swine flu is known as influenza type A, H1N1. The new H1N1/09 Pandemic swine flu originated from a pig who had the original/normal pig flu and then this same pig caught the bird flu H5N1. These viruses combined to make a new and bad case of the flu, and this pig gave it to other pigs. Eventually, one of the pigs infected with the flu that was a combination of bird flu and pig flu, then caught the human flu, which "mixed together" in that pig with the other two types of viruses making an even worse case of the flu with all three types of genetic material. This pig spread that new "triple reassortant" virus to more pigs. When pigs with the triple reassortant virus came in close contact with a human, probably a farm worker, and the human caught this bad flu, from then on it has been spreading around the world. The name has stuck and so it is still called the Swine Flu, Swine Influenza, Hog Flu, and Pig Flu in some places to the chagrin of the Pork Producers Association. See the related question below about what caused the pandemic swine flu for more detail on how the reassortant process created the new strain of pandemic flu.

NomenclatureThe naming convention for virus strains such as the one used to produce the pandemic A-H1N1/09 vaccine [ A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)v-like virus ] is explained below. Using this example of a name of a specific viral subtype/strain: A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virusA = Type A influenza. There are three types of influenza: A, B, and C.

CALIFORNIA = The location the strain was first identified.

7 = The strain identification number.

2009 = The year the strain was identified.

H1N1 = The antigenic characterization of the H and N proteins.

[Antigenic characterization is a method used to describe influenza proteins neuraminidase (N) and hemagglutinnin (H) and how they have changed.]

(See "What Caused the 2009 Swine Flu" in related questions below.)