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.

• New York State Department of Health Warns That Influenza Rates Are Rising Across the State - New York State Department of Health
  Wed, 18 May 2022 19:01 GMT
• New insights on avian influenza spillover and global spread - News-Medical.Net
  Thu, 19 May 2022 23:15 GMT
• Dietary cholesterol worsens inflammation, sickness in mice with influenza - Science Daily
  Fri, 20 May 2022 01:14 GMT
• Avian influenza spreading among Vermont's wild birds - WCAX
  Thu, 19 May 2022 19:08 GMT
• A surge in influenza cases in Queensland prompts doctors to issue vaccine warning for children and vulnerable groups - ABC News
  Wed, 18 May 2022 19:33 GMT
• COVID-19 vs. influenza: What's the difference? - WXYZ 7 Action News Detroit
  Mon, 16 May 2022 20:21 GMT
• Seasonal flu may have descended from deadly 1918 influenza pandemic - The Natural History Museum
  Tue, 10 May 2022 07:00 GMT
• ‘It is clear we have an outbreak’: Flu, common viruses make rapid comeback in NSW - Sydney Morning Herald
  Thu, 19 May 2022 19:00 GMT
• Type A influenza may be returning to Thailand after two years: expert - Nation Thailand
  Fri, 20 May 2022 08:12 GMT
• Avian Influenza A (H5N1) – the United States of America - World Health Organization
  Fri, 06 May 2022 07:00 GMT
• Highly pathogenic avian influenza confirmed in three red fox kits - Michigan (.gov)
  Thu, 12 May 2022 19:14 GMT
• ‘Surge will continue’: Children’s hospital on alert amid 500 per cent jump in influenza cases - Sydney Morning Herald
  Thu, 19 May 2022 06:25 GMT
• Sixth Influenza Death Reported in San Diego County - countynewscenter.com
  Wed, 18 May 2022 17:25 GMT
• Officials confirm New Jersey's first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza - News 12 Bronx
  Thu, 19 May 2022 09:13 GMT
• FDA authorizes Labcorp's combined COVID-influenza-respiratory virus at-home test kit - WRAL TechWire
  Wed, 18 May 2022 11:41 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

• Nanodiamond conjugated SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: electrochemical impedance immunosensing on a gold microelectrode Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  A promising immunosensing strategy in diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 is proposed using a 10-µm gap-sized gold interdigitated electrode (AuIDE) to target the surface spike protein (SP). The microelectrode surface was modified by (3-glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane to enforce the epoxy matrix, which facilitates the immobilization of the anti-SP antibody. The immunosensing performance was evaluated by integrating a nanosized (~ 10 nm) diamond-complexed SP as a target. The proposed immunoassay was...
• The 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Hemagglutinin Stalk Remained Antigenically Stable after Circulating in Humans for a Decade Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  An H1N1 influenza virus caused a pandemic in 2009, and descendants of this virus continue to circulate seasonally in humans. Upon infection with the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain (pH1N1), many humans produced antibodies against epitopes in the hemagglutinin (HA) stalk. HA stalk-focused antibody responses were common among pH1N1-infected individuals because HA stalk epitopes were conserved between the pH1N1 strain and previously circulating H1N1 strains. Here, we completed a series of experiments to...
• Ecological divergence of wild birds drives avian influenza spillover and global spread Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  The diversity of influenza A viruses (IAV) is primarily hosted by two highly divergent avian orders: Anseriformes (ducks, swans and geese) and Charadriiformes (gulls, terns and shorebirds). Studies of IAV have historically focused on Anseriformes, specifically dabbling ducks, overlooking the diversity of hosts in nature, including gull and goose species that have successfully adapted to human habitats. This study sought to address this imbalance by characterizing spillover dynamics and global...
• Perspective: Role of Micronutrients and Omega-3 Long-chain polyunsaturated Fatty Acids for Immune Outcomes of Relevance to Infections in Older Adults - a Narrative Review and Call for Action Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  The immune system is weakened by advancing age, often referred to as immunosenescence, increasing the vulnerability to, and frequently the severity of, infectious diseases in older people. This has become very apparent in the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for which older people are at higher risk of severe outcomes, even those who are fully vaccinated. Aging affects both the innate and adaptive immune systems and is characterized by an imbalanced inflammatory response....
• "Nessuno vuole vedermi": è una battaglia persa contro una malattia tropicale trascurata? Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  Riassunto. Le malattie tropicali trascurate (NTD) sono una serie di malattie che prosperano nelle comunità povere di risorse, in particolare nei climi tropicali. I fattori sociali, ambientali ed economici contribuiscono alla loro persistenza. La filariosi linfatica (LF), classificata come NTD in tutto il mondo, è una malattia parassitaria causata da vermi microscopici noti come microfilarie. I vermi adulti dimorano solo nel sistema linfatico degli esseri umani. Le zanzare trasferiscono la LF da...
• The Evolution of the National Special Pathogen System of Care Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  Infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics have repeatedly threatened public health and have severely strained healthcare delivery systems throughout the past century. Pathogens causing respiratory illness, such as influenza viruses and coronaviruses, as well as the highly communicable viral hemorrhagic fevers, pose a large threat to the healthcare delivery system in the United States and worldwide. Through the Hospital Preparedness Program, within the US Department of Health and Human Services...
• Emerging Role of ZBP1 in Z-RNA Sensing, Influenza Virus-Induced Cell Death, and Pulmonary Inflammation Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  Influenza viruses cause respiratory tract infections, which lead to human disease outbreaks and pandemics. Influenza A virus (IAV) circulates in diverse animal species, predominantly aquatic birds. This often results in the emergence of novel viral strains causing severe human disease upon zoonotic transmission. Innate immune sensing of the IAV infection promotes host cell death and inflammatory responses to confer antiviral host defense. Dysregulated respiratory epithelial cell death and...
• Emerging trends and promises of nanoemulsions in therapeutics of infectious diseases Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  Infectious diseases are prevalent and have contributed to high morbidity rates by creating havoc like the COVID-19, 1918 influenza and Black Death (the plague) pandemics. Antimicrobial resistance, adverse effects, the emergence of co-infections and the high cost of antimicrobial therapies are major threats to the health of people worldwide while impacting overall healthcare and socioeconomic development. One of the most common ways to address this issue lies in improving existing antimicrobial...
• Three Cases Infected with Avian Influenza A(H5N6) Virus - Chongqing Municipality, China, January-September, 2021 Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC?: The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a total of 48 cases by October 15, 2021. The continuous genomic reassortments of H5N6 and other subtype avian influenza viruses (AIVs) pose a long-term threat to public health and the poultry industry.
• A H9N2 Human Case and Surveillance of Avian Influenza Viruses in Live Poultry Markets - Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, China, 2021 Thu, 19 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400
  WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC?: An increasing number of human infected avian influenza A (H9N2) cases have been reported. In 2021, 11 human infections with influenza A virus subtype H9N2 (A/H9N2) have been reported in China.