Antigenic Shift
In the foreground of the print an androgynous teenage girl stretches birdlike hands to ward off an onslaught of terns. She is also menaced by small boys wearing masks. Influenza viruses are divided into types A, B and C. Types A and B circulate in human populations and mutate constantly, resulting in the need for a modified vaccine every year. At times, a new influenza appears to which nobody is immune because no one has previously been exposed to it. This is called an Antigenic Shift and it occurs at irregular intervals. Some antigenic shifts result in local epidemics or global pandemics. Three major Influenza pandemics have occurred in this century; in 1918, 1957 and 1968. The pandemic in 1918 alone- known as Spanish Flu — killed more than 20 million people. There is evidence that the viruses which caused these pandemics originated from animals; in 1918 from swine and in 1957 and 1968 from avian strains, explaining in another fashion these elements within the print.
One of the first deaths in 1997 from the so-called Bird Flu in Hong Kong [Influenza A (H5N1)] was that of a thirteen year old girl. Prior to this, H5N1 was known to infect only various species of birds. First discovered in Terns in South Africa, this is the same strain that infected chickens in Hong Kong in 1997.
