Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a typical US flu season could record more than 200,000 cases confirmed in the lab. This is a relatively small number compared to the actual number of cases, which is estimated to be in the range of 9 to 45 million per year. ..
When the pandemic began, the flu season seemed to have been forgotten. In countries such as the United States, influenza cases are low.The· Centers for Disease Control and Prevention In the United States, only less than 2,000 cases confirmed in the lab are recorded.
This may sound good, but scientists warn that a year with few cases of the flu season could be a bad year for the next season. This means that more people are more susceptible to influenza virus strains due to their weakened immunity to the flu virus.
(Photo: PIXTA)
Scientists warn that the next flu season could worsen after a year without it
COVID-19 mitigation helped prevent influenza infection
Lauren Dan’s article posted Yahoo! News COVID-19 mitigation, such as social distance, frequent hand washing, and wearing face masks, has helped prevent influenza transmission.
The less physical interaction and barriers make the influenza virus less likely to infect others. This will lead to a decrease in the number of influenza cases confirmed in laboratories in Japan.
However, Dr. Andipekosi, a professor of microbiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that years with low flu could lead to high levels of flu next year.
“It’s been over a year since a significant part of the population was infected with the flu and didn’t get immunity because of it,” Pecos said. “It may mean that more people in the population are more susceptible to the flu.”
People infected with the flu usually develop immunity to the virus. As a result, babies and children are most susceptible to infection because the immune system has not yet encountered the virus.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, influenza is rarely prevalent this year, which could double the number of people susceptible to the influenza virus.
Scott Hensley, a microbiologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, said that low levels of immunity in the population could lead to more cases of influenza, leading to more pediatric deaths and an increase in cases throughout the community. He said he had sex.
Read again: How to identify influenza symptoms from COVID-19
Vaccines are still the key to preventing influenza cases
Scientists pointed out that unusual seasons of influenza strains do not appear to be as high as in previous seasons, NBC report.
However, it is unclear whether the strains are actually low or whether the strain sampling is limited due to the small number of cases.
Vaccines are key to prevent cases of influenza because they are more likely to fight the virus and are more effective, even when there are actually few strains in circulation.
However, if the real problem is the lack of sufficient sampling of strains, it means that the vaccine can provide less protection and can be a bad match.
Scientists often pay particular attention to strains in the Southern Hemisphere, where influenza begins in June and peaks in August. This serves as the basis for which strains are attacked in the United States as well. However, no local influenza activity has yet been recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.
Related article: Nanoparticle influenza vaccines found to be effective in animal studies block seasonal and pandemic strains such as H5N1
Check out more news and information about influenza And vaccine Science Times.
