Influenza Virus Net is the web resource for anyone interested in influenza and flu pandemics. Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses), that affects humans, birds and other mammals. The virus spreads easily from person to person. Influenza circulates worldwide and can affect anybody in any age group. Influenza causes annual epidemics that peak during winter in temperate regions. Influenza is a serious public health problem that causes severe illnesses and deaths for higher risk populations. The most common symptoms of the disease are chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness/fatigue and general discomfort. Sore throat, fever and coughs are the most frequent symptoms. In more serious cases, influenza causes pneumonia, which can be fatal, particularly for the young and the elderly. An influenza epidemic can take an economic toll through lost workforce productivity, and strain health services. Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infection.

The objectives of Influenza Virus Net are to be the public and professional information resource for influenza and to serve as a network in the exchange of information and news related to influenza.

• Worst cold ever, flu or covid-19? Countries brace for influenza and pandemic. - The Washington Post
  Wed, 13 Oct 2021 14:15 GMT
• Influenza expected to make a comeback; vaccinations urged - UMass Medical School
  Wed, 13 Oct 2021 14:45 GMT
• Cell-based influenza vaccine provides protection against the flu in children - Science Daily
  Thu, 14 Oct 2021 14:03 GMT
• Dogs test positive for Canine Influenza at West Valley Animal Shelter in Chatsworth - KTLA
  Sat, 16 Oct 2021 02:38 GMT
• Influenza Virus Is Primed for Continual Emergence and Pandemic Potential - Contagionlive.com
  Mon, 11 Oct 2021 13:17 GMT
• Even in Shadow of COVID-19, Influenza Poses Pandemic Threat - Infection Control Today
  Tue, 12 Oct 2021 17:56 GMT
• First flu-related death of season reported in Indiana - WANE
  Fri, 15 Oct 2021 20:47 GMT
• Few Influenza Cases Last Year Could Have Implications For This Season - Wisconsin Public Radio News
  Thu, 30 Sep 2021 07:00 GMT
• Cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine produces sufficient immune response in children - News-Medical.Net
  Fri, 15 Oct 2021 05:18 GMT
• Seqirus Receives FDA Approval of its Cell-Based Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine, Expanding the Age Indication to Include Children as Young as Six Months - PRNewswire
  Fri, 15 Oct 2021 14:56 GMT
• Whitehorse Daily Star: Influenza vaccine clinics open their doors - Whitehorse Star
  Tue, 12 Oct 2021 21:15 GMT
• Are we heading toward a COVID-19 and flu 'twindemic' this season? - Medical News Today
  Tue, 28 Sep 2021 07:00 GMT
• COVID-19 and seasonal influenza: preparing fo - EurekAlert
  Fri, 15 Oct 2021 17:31 GMT
• Influenza is on the rise; how do I prevent it? - World Health Organization
  Fri, 01 Oct 2021 07:00 GMT
• Influenza vaccinations begin Monday; three confirmed cases in Alberta - Calgary Herald
  Fri, 15 Oct 2021 20:50 GMT

• PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza (116): Europe (Russia) zoo, wild bird, backyard, HPAI H5N1, OIE
  Mon, 20 Sep 2021 15:46:50 -0400
  Avian Influenza H5N1 -- Russia
  Summary
  Report type: immediate notification
  Started: 27 Aug 2021
  Confirmed: 2 Sep 2021
  Reported: 15 Sep 2021
  Reason for notification: recurrence
  Last occurrence: 13 Dec 2020
  Causal agent: highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
  Serotype: H5N1
  Nature of diagnosis: clinical, laboratory
  This event pertains to a defined zone within the country.
  New outbreaks (3)
  Summary of outbreaks
  Total outbreaks (3)
  Outbreak location 1: Zateryanny mir, Chelyabinsk gorsovet,


• PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human (20): Cambodia (SI) H9N2
  Sun, 19 Sep 2021 19:23:42 -0400
  Avian Influenza -- Cambodia
  Abstract
  ---------
  In February 2021, routine sentinel surveillance for influenza-like illness in Cambodia detected a human avian influenza A(H9N2) virus infection. Investigations identified no recent H9N2 virus infections in 43 close contacts. One chicken sample from the infected child's house was positive for H9N2 virus and genetically similar to the human virus.
  --
  Communicated by:
  Jurre Siegers
  Institute Pasteur du Cambodge
  
  [ProMED thanks Jurre Siegers for sharing the early

• The structure of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae SapA in a closed conformation reveals a constricted ligand-binding cavity and a novel RNA binding motif Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a significant pathogen in respiratory disease and otitis media. Important for NTHi survival, colonization and persistence in vivo is the Sap (sensitivity to antimicrobial peptides) ABC transporter system. Current models propose a direct role for Sap in heme and antimicrobial peptide (AMP) transport. Here, the crystal structure of SapA, the periplasmic component of Sap, in a closed, ligand bound conformation, is presented. Phylogenetic and cavity...
• Phase 1 randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-escalating study to evaluate OVX836, a nucleoprotein-based influenza vaccine: intramuscular results Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  CONCLUSIONS: The safety and reactogenicity profile, as well as the humoral and cellular immune responses encourage further evaluation of OVX836 in a larger Phase 2a study.
• Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 replication in explant cultures of the human upper respiratory tract reveals broad tissue tropism of wild-type and B.1.1.7 variant viruses Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  The upper respiratory tract (URT) is the primary entry site for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, but its involvement in viral amplification and pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. Here we investigated primary nasal epithelial cultures, as well as vital explanted tissues to scrutinize the tropism of wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and the recently emerged B.1.1.7 variant. Our analyses revealed a widespread replication competence of SARS-CoV-2 in polarized nasal epithelium as well as in...
• Preparing for an influenza season 2021/22 with a likely co-circulation of influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  No abstract
• Comparative analysis of COVID-19 case fatality rate between two waves in Nepal Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  The first COVID-19 case in Nepal was reported on January 23, 2020. Then infection, then, started to spread gradually, and October marked the most devastating increase in COVID-19 cases of the year 2020. Compared with the October 2020 peak in Nepal, the May 2021 peak of COVID-19 observed 2- and 10-fold rise in new cases and deaths per day, respectively. Given that this surprising increase in the death rate was not observed in other countries, this study analyzed the COVID-19 case fatality rates...
• Maternal medicine: Calling for improved research quality Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  Asthma is the commonest chronic medical condition reported in pregnancy, affecting more than 10% of pregnant women (Flores et al., J Asthma 2020;57:693-702) and is associated with worse outcomes in pregnant women with COVID-19 and influenza. However, the quality of results that Xu et al. were able to produce, is limited. Of the 20 studies identified by the systematic review, 90% (18) were judged to have serious or critical risk of bias. For the 48 individual comparisons presented, 11 were...
• The Relationship Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Vaccine Hesitancy: A Scoping Review of Literature Until August 2021 Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  Background: Vaccines have been contributing to eradicate or drastically reduce the incidence of common diseases. Simultaneously, vaccine hesitancy is considered among the top ten global health threats. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a tremendous impact on health, economics, and society worldwide, while also reinforcing faulty beliefs about the necessity of vaccine programs as a whole. This study aims to synthesise evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vaccine hesitancy. Methods: A...
• Small Molecule Potentiator of Adjuvant Activity Enhancing Survival to Influenza Viral Challenge Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  As viruses continue to mutate the need for rapid high titer neutralizing antibody responses has been highlighted. To meet these emerging threats, agents that enhance vaccine adjuvant activity are needed that are safe with minimal local or systemic side effects. To respond to this demand, we sought small molecules that would sustain and improve the protective effect of a currently approved adjuvant, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA), a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) agonist. A lead molecule from a...
• Summary of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Statement for 2021-2022 Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  CONCLUSION: NACI continues to recommend that an age-appropriate influenza vaccine should be offered annually to anyone six months of age and older who does not have contraindications to the vaccine. Vaccination should be offered as a priority to people at high risk of influenza-related complications or hospitalization, people capable of transmitting influenza to those at high risk of complications, and others as indicated.
• Representativeness of the FluWatchers Participatory Disease Surveillance Program 2015-2016 to 2018-2019: How do participants compare with the Canadian population? Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  CONCLUSION: FluWatchers participants under-represent the tails of Canada's age distribution and over-represent those who engage in health promoting behaviours as indicated by high influenza vaccine coverage, consistent with typical volunteer-based survey response biases. Representativeness would likely improve with targeted recruitment of under-represented groups, such as males, older adults and Canadians living in rural areas.