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H1N1. Refers to the type of proteins found on the virus surface, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. These are the proteins that the virus uses to gain entry into your lungs. If you know the types, it's easier to make a vaccine because you can pull an H1N1 virus from a freezer instead of trying to culture the virus from people and purify it.
Pat, it's sort of a toss-up about the air quality. For sure, Mexico City residents' lungs are overworked, but OTOH, maybe they're so overstimulated that their immune systems have become more aggressive about fighting particulates? Dunno, both arguments sound reasonably plausible to me.