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    "id":"swine-flu-overview-vin",
    

    "smil":"http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/data/xml/swine-flu-overview-vin.smil",

    "title":"How Flu Viruses Attack",

    "transcript":"\u003Cp\u003Ep.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt\u003B font\u002Dsize: 12pt\u003B font\u002Dfamily: \u0022Times New Roman\u0022\u003B }div.Section1 { page: Section1\u003B }\u000D\u000A\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThe carrier of a devastating flu virus could be as innocent as a child. She could be returning home with her family from a vacation.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EOn the flight, every cough she makes, every touch she makes, could transmit the virus she now carries.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EEarly symptoms of a flu virus are like the common cold. It could be hours or days before more serious symptoms become apparent.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003ENo one, not her parents, or other passengers, would suspect this little girl could be ground zero for a worldwide pandemic.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EFlu viruses kill people every year, but about once every generation, a flu pandemic kills millions.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EPerhaps the most serious recorded flu outbreak began in 1918. Close quarters of World War I soldiers provided opportunity for human\u002Dto\u002Dhuman transmission.  And their migration to the war zones meant mixing with civilians around the world. Victims bled internally – and the lungs filled with fluid, sometimes ‘drowning’ the patients.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EOver 50 million people died from this influenza… at least 30 million more than were killed in the war.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control has released images of the swine flu virus that is believed to have originated in March, 2009 in Mexico. Though swine influenza does not normally infect people, there have been sporadic previous human infections.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E \u003C/em\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EBut this strain is new.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EHow does a flu virus attack?\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EA protein spike on the surface of a flu virus is the key to breaking into a human cell. Our immune systems recognize the spikes of common flu viruses previously contracted, and block them, but a new, unknown virus goes undetected, and enters the human cell.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThe virus’s genetic material enters the cell’s nucleus, and can make it clone hundreds of thousands of new viruses.  \u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E Then, the virus’s protein enables the release of new viruses that attack and take over more cells.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThe human immune reaction sends out cells and chemicals called \u003Cstrong\u003Ecytokines\u003C/strong\u003E to attack the virus in the lungs, but they cause severe inflammation.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThe virus itself may not kill its host, but inflammation can cause blood and other fluids to buildup in the lungs, and the patient actually drowns.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EBackyard farms like this could be the link that allows swine or avian flu to jump from animals to humans. \u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EWhen influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort, or swap genes.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EFlu viruses are made up of RNA, forever changing genetic material. By mutating, the RNA could make the virus less dangerous, but it could also make it more deadly under the right conditions.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003ENew strains can emerge, that are a mix of swine, human and avian influenza viruses.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp class\u003D\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EAnd once human\u002Dto\u002Dhuman transmission is established, with our jet\u002Dsetting lifestyles of today, it could be only a matter of days before the virus can be taken around the world, creating a pandemic.\u003C/p\u003E",

    "description":"\u003Cp\u003ESee how a flu virus attacks, mutates, and becomes contagious—perhaps resulting in an outbreak or even pandemic.\u003C/p\u003E",
    
    
    "credit":"National Geographic",
    
    

    
    
    
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    "url":"http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/history-archaeology-news/swine-flu-overview-vin/",

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        "link":
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