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Influenza A viruses are negative-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. Different subtypes of influenza A exist, these are characterized by proteins on the outermost membrane of the virus, called hemagglutinin (H or HA) and neuraminidase (N or NA). H and N are the antigens of the virus, and play an important role in the interaction between the host’s immunological response and the virus. Recently, researchers have reported the discovery of an antibody which is generally effective against all types of the influenza A virus<ref name="Arti3">Super antibody' fights off flu, BBC, 2011, James Gallagher, https://www.bbc.com/news/health-14324901</ref>.
The subtype which will be used in SensUs 2021 is H1N1. Historically, H1N1 has been responsible for most deaths due to influenza. It is a popular influenza strain for research purposes. <ref name="Arti4">Prevalent Eurasian avian-like H1N1 swine influenza virus with 2009 pandemic viral genes facilitating human infection, Research Gate, 2020, Sun, Honglei & Xiao, Yihong & Liu, Jiyu & Wang, Dayan & Li, Fangtao & Wang, Chenxi & Li, Chong & Zhu, Junda & Song, Jingwei & Sun, Haoran & Zhimin, Jiang & Liu, Litao & Zhang, Xin & Wei, Kai & Dongjun, Hou & Pu, Juan & Sun, Yipeng & Tong, Qi & Bi, Yuhai & Liu, Jinhua https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342555087_Prevalent_Eurasian_avian-like_H1N1_swine_influenza_virus_with_2009_pandemic_viral_genes_facilitating_human_infection</ref><ref name="Arti5">Comparison of Hospitalized Patients With ARDS Caused by COVID-19 and H1N1, CHEST, Xiao Tang, Rong-Hui Du, Rui Wang, Tan-Ze Cao, Lu-Lu Guan, Cheng-Qing Yang, Qi Zhu, Ming Hu, Xu-Yan Li, Ying Li, Li-Rong Liang, Zhao-Hui Tong, Bing Sun, Peng Peng, Huan-Zhong Shi, 2020, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012369220305584</ref><ref name="Arti6">Landscape of coordinated immune responses to H1N1 challenge in humans, Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2020, Zainab Rahil, Rebecca Leylek, Christian M. Schürch, Han Chen, Zach Bjornson-Hooper, Shannon R. Christensen, Pier Federico Gherardini, Salil S. Bhate, Matthew H. Spitzer, Gabriela K. Fragiadakis, Nilanjan Mukherjee, Nelson Kim, Sizun Jiang, Jennifer Yo, Brice Gaudilliere, Melton Affrime, Bonnie Bock, Scott E. Hensley, Juliana Idoyaga, Nima Aghaeepour, Kenneth Kim, Garry P. Nolan, David R. McIlwain https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012369220305584</ref> . Due to its popularity among researchers, antigens and antibodies are commercially available, making H1N1 suitable as a target for the SensUs competition.
Influenza A vaccines for humans have been developed. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice per year for use all over the world, which is necessary due to rapid mutations of the influenza virus. Every year during flu season, a large part of the population is vaccinated in order to protect individuals against the virus. However, due to unforeseen mutations of the virus, it might be possible that in a certain year a vaccine will prove ineffective. In that case large portions of the population would be at risk and a pandemic could occur. The probability of a major influenza A pandemic is estimated to be around 0.5-1% each year.