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.

• Novel Influenza A Virus Confirmed in the U.S. - Precision Vaccinations
  Sat, 23 Oct 2021 20:44 GMT
• Did Covid-19 lead to extinction of Influenza B virus? - India Today
  Mon, 25 Oct 2021 10:35 GMT
• Influenza Virus Is Primed for Continual Emergence and Pandemic Potential - Contagionlive.com
  Mon, 11 Oct 2021 07:00 GMT
• Grants Awarded to Gut Microbiome, Influenza Research in Australia - COPD News Today
  Mon, 25 Oct 2021 15:54 GMT
• Influenza is on the rise; how do I prevent it? - World Health Organization
  Fri, 01 Oct 2021 07:00 GMT
• Is a 'twindemic' of flu and COVID-19 about to hit the U.S.? - National Geographic
  Wed, 13 Oct 2021 07:00 GMT
• What’s Going Around: Viral illnesses, influenza, strep throat - ABC27
  Thu, 21 Oct 2021 08:30 GMT
• Why you need the flu vaccine this year more than ever - Michigan Medicine
  Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:00 GMT
• Are we heading toward a COVID-19 and flu 'twindemic' this season? - Medical News Today
  Tue, 28 Sep 2021 07:00 GMT
• Health experts help residents prepare for start of influenza season - MyWabashValley.com
  Fri, 01 Oct 2021 07:00 GMT
• COVID-19 and Influenza Surveillance – Coronavirus - Virginia Department of Health
  Tue, 28 Sep 2021 07:00 GMT
• El Paso public health authority recommends flu shots ahead of influenza season - KFOX El Paso
  Tue, 26 Oct 2021 11:09 GMT
• Even in Shadow of COVID-19, Influenza Poses Pandemic Threat - Infection Control Today
  Tue, 12 Oct 2021 07:00 GMT
• Worst cold ever, flu or covid-19? Countries brace for influenza and pandemic. - The Washington Post
  Wed, 13 Oct 2021 07:00 GMT
• Five Things You Need to Know About the Influenza Vaccination - KLAS - 8 News Now
  Tue, 19 Oct 2021 23:38 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

• Functionality of the putative surface glycoproteins of the Wuhan spiny eel influenza virus Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  A panel of influenza virus-like sequences were recently documented in fish and amphibians. Of these, the Wuhan spiny eel influenza virus (WSEIV) was found to phylogenetically cluster with influenza B viruses as a sister clade. Influenza B viruses have been documented to circulate only in humans, with certain virus isolates found in harbor seals. It is therefore interesting that a similar virus was potentially found in fish. Here we characterize the putative hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase...
• Single-Cell Analysis of the In Vivo Dynamics of Host Circulating Immune Cells Highlights the Importance of Myeloid Cells in Avian Flaviviral Infection Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  Ducks are an economically important waterfowl but a natural reservoir for some zoonotic pathogens, such as influenza virus and flaviviruses. Our understanding of the duck immune system and its interaction with viruses remains incomplete. In this study, we constructed the transcriptomic landscape of duck circulating immune cells, the first line of defense in the arthropod-borne transmission of arboviruses, using high-throughput single-cell transcriptome sequencing, which defined 14 populations of...
• Inhibition of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases with clinically relevant nucleotide analogs Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  The treatment of viral infections remains challenging, in particular in the face of emerging pathogens. Broad-spectrum antiviral drugs could potentially be used as a first line of defense. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of RNA viruses serves as a logical target for drug discovery and development efforts. Herein we discuss compounds that target RdRp of poliovirus, hepatitis C virus, influenza viruses, respiratory syncytial virus, and the growing data on coronaviruses. We focus on...
• Meningitis and encephalitis in Poland in 2019 Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  INTRODUCTION: The most common form of infectious diseases of the nervous system is meningitis and encephalitis. This study discusses in detail bacterial meningitis and/or encephalitis in which the etiological factors are: Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and viral - in Poland, most often caused by tick-borne encephalitis virus. In addition to routine epidemiological surveillance of diseases caused by these etiological factors, mandatory and recommended...
• The clinical picture of influenza against other respiratory tract infections in a general practitioner practice Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  INTRODUCTION: Influenza is an acute infectious disease caused by an RNA virus. In Poland, influenza occurs seasonally during the epidemic period lasting from October to April. The peak of influenza incidence in Poland falls in the first quarter of the year, with a comparable number of cases in January, February and March. Influenza can be severe in some patients, requiring hospitalization, or even fatal, especially in high-risk patients.
• Innate Immune Responses to Influenza Virus Infections in the Upper Respiratory Tract Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  The innate immune system is the host's first line of immune defence against any invading pathogen. To establish an infection in a human host the influenza virus must replicate in epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract. However, there are several innate immune mechanisms in place to stop the virus from reaching epithelial cells. In addition to limiting viral replication and dissemination, the innate immune system also activates the adaptive immune system leading to viral clearance,...
• Identification and Characterization of Swine Influenza Virus H1N1 Variants Generated in Vaccinated and Nonvaccinated, Challenged Pigs Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  Influenza viruses represent a continuous threat to both animal and human health. The 2009 H1N1 A influenza pandemic highlighted the importance of a swine host in the adaptation of influenza viruses to humans. Nowadays, one of the most extended strategies used to control swine influenza viruses (SIVs) is the trivalent vaccine application, whose formulation contains the most frequently circulating SIV subtypes H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2. These vaccines do not provide full protection against the virus,...
• Evolutionary Dynamics of H5 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses (Clade 2.3.4.4B) Circulating in Bulgaria in 2019-2021 Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  The first detection of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N8 virus in Bulgaria dates back to December 2016. Since then, many outbreaks caused by HPAI H5 viruses from clade 2.3.4.4B have been reported in both domestic and wild birds in different regions of the country. In this study, we characterized the complete genome of sixteen H5 viruses collected in Bulgaria between 2019 and 2021. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a persistent circulation of the H5N8 strain for four consecutive years...
• Metabolic Modifications by Common Respiratory Viruses and Their Potential as New Antiviral Targets Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  Respiratory viruses are known to be the most frequent causative mediators of lung infections in humans, bearing significant impact on the host cell signaling machinery due to their host-dependency for efficient replication. Certain cellular functions are actively induced by respiratory viruses for their own benefit. This includes metabolic pathways such as glycolysis, fatty acid synthesis (FAS) and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, among others, which are modified during viral infections....
• Genetic Characterization and Pathogenicity of H7N7 and H7N9 Avian Influenza Viruses Isolated from South Korea Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400
  H7 low pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs) can mutate into highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs). In addition to avian species, H7 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) also infect humans. In this study, two AIVs, H7N9 (20X-20) and H7N7 (34X-2), isolated from the feces of wild birds in South Korea in 2021, were genetically analyzed. The HA cleavage site of the two H7 Korean viruses was confirmed to be ELPKGR/GLF, indicating they are LPAIVs. There were no amino acid substitutions at...