tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
During the current northern hemisphere's winter, seasonal influenza activity has become worrisome. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), influenza activity is affecting the entire continental USA for the first time in 13 years and this year's season might well be severe. In the UK, in the first week of 2018, GP consultation rates for influenza rose 78%, and influenza-confirmed hospitalisations increased by 50% from the previous week, according to Public Health England.
Influenza A H3N2 and B viruses account for the majority of influenza globally, and it is know that the H3N2 virus mutates at a faster rate than other strains of the virus. The current influenza vaccines offer lower protection against influenza A H3N2 than other strains and, disturbingly, this season was marked by increased vaccination hesitancy among the public and even among health workers.
This unusual seasonal influenza outbreak is a wake up call to revisit influenza control strategies. More traditional public health precautions need to be reasserted. The CDC website explains several frequently forgotten or ignored everyday preventive actions that are aimed at limiting the spread of the disease. These include trying to avoid close contact with sick people, limiting contact with others while sick (by staying home for at least 24 hours after flu-like symptoms appear if needed), covering one's nose and mouth with a tissue while coughing or sneezing and throwing the tissue in the trash after use, keeping hands clean by regular washing with soap and water, avoiding touching mouth, nose, and eyes, and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
Influenza accounts for about 300 000 to 600 000 seasonal influenza-associated respiratory deaths annually. That systems are struggling to cope with seasonal influenza bodes poorly in the event of a virulent pandemic influenza, a century after the influenza pandemic of 1918. Vaccination remains the most effective method for prevention and control of infection, but efforts from all health professionals to implement known influenza prevention strategies remain crucial to combat this persistent global health threat.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)30087-4/fulltext
Influenza A H3N2 and B viruses account for the majority of influenza globally, and it is know that the H3N2 virus mutates at a faster rate than other strains of the virus. The current influenza vaccines offer lower protection against influenza A H3N2 than other strains and, disturbingly, this season was marked by increased vaccination hesitancy among the public and even among health workers.
This unusual seasonal influenza outbreak is a wake up call to revisit influenza control strategies. More traditional public health precautions need to be reasserted. The CDC website explains several frequently forgotten or ignored everyday preventive actions that are aimed at limiting the spread of the disease. These include trying to avoid close contact with sick people, limiting contact with others while sick (by staying home for at least 24 hours after flu-like symptoms appear if needed), covering one's nose and mouth with a tissue while coughing or sneezing and throwing the tissue in the trash after use, keeping hands clean by regular washing with soap and water, avoiding touching mouth, nose, and eyes, and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
Influenza accounts for about 300 000 to 600 000 seasonal influenza-associated respiratory deaths annually. That systems are struggling to cope with seasonal influenza bodes poorly in the event of a virulent pandemic influenza, a century after the influenza pandemic of 1918. Vaccination remains the most effective method for prevention and control of infection, but efforts from all health professionals to implement known influenza prevention strategies remain crucial to combat this persistent global health threat.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)30087-4/fulltext