Welcome to Influenza Virus Net
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.
Influenza News and Headlines
- Free at-home testing and treatments now available for COVID and flu through federal program - ABC News
Wed, 06 Dec 2023 23:51 GMT - Post Holdings Reports Avian Influenza at Third-Party Contracted Facilities and Updates Fiscal Year 2024 Adjusted ... - Yahoo Finance
Thu, 07 Dec 2023 21:05 GMT - Alabama among eleven states with high influenza activity - Alabama's News Leader
Mon, 04 Dec 2023 22:59 GMT - Symptoms of COVID and flu as cases rise in 2023 - Reviewed
Tue, 05 Dec 2023 19:41 GMT - Colleyville couple who lost daughter to flu encourages vaccination - WFAA.com
Wed, 06 Dec 2023 23:59 GMT - QMJHL postpones Foreurs-Tigres game due to influenza outbreak - Daily Faceoff
Wed, 06 Dec 2023 19:18 GMT - Flu Cases Up, Now Deemed 'Prevalent' By NY Health Officials - Daily Voice
Wed, 06 Dec 2023 23:11 GMT - 2 confirmed avian influenza cases put Kansas Department of Agriculture, farmers on high alert - KSHB 41 Kansas City News
Wed, 06 Dec 2023 00:00 GMT - Arkansas Department of Health releases Viral Respiratory Diseases report for week 48 - KATV
Thu, 07 Dec 2023 17:09 GMT - Influenza (Flu) | Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) - Erie County
Mon, 04 Dec 2023 15:47 GMT - Weekly US Map: Influenza Summary Update - CDC
Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:00 GMT - Co-localization of influenza A virus and voltage-dependent calcium channels provides new perspectives on the ... - Nature.com
Thu, 07 Dec 2023 08:50 GMT - EPI-WIN webinar: Seasonal influenza prevention and control: national and regional perspectives - who.int
Wed, 06 Dec 2023 11:45 GMT - Hospital Staff Influenza Vaccinations Have Declined Since COVID-19 Pandemic - Hematology Advisor
Thu, 07 Dec 2023 15:30 GMT - National Influenza Vaccination Week - Spectrum News 1
Thu, 07 Dec 2023 11:45 GMT
Latest Influenza Posts on ProMED-mail
- 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
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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
Latest Articles on Influenza
- Cost of illness of the vaccine-preventable diseases influenza, herpes zoster and pneumococcal disease in France Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
CONCLUSION: Influenza remains a leading vaccine-preventable disease among older adults in France, resulting in a substantial economic burden that could be prevented by increasing vaccine uptake. - Effect of influenza vaccination on the persistence of HIV reservoirs and immunologic parameters in people with HIV Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
No abstract - Harnessing endogenous peptide compounds as potential therapeutics for severe influenza Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide preclinical evidence that therapeutic LAT9997 treatment limits viral burden and characteristic features of severe influenza, including hyperinflammation and lung damage. - Correlations between COVID-19 cases and temperature, air humidity, and social isolating rate with cross wavelet transform and wavelet coherence: Case study of New York and São Paulo cities Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
The COVID-19 pandemic originated in 2019 and has become an endemic disease that we must learn to live with, similar to other strains of influenza. The Organization (WHO) declared on May 5, 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland, the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern regarding COVID-19. As vaccines become more widely available and the pandemic appears to be improved, our focus shifts to the challenges we still face. Understanding how external factors like temperature, air... - IL-17RA promotes pathologic epithelial inflammation in a mouse model of upper respiratory influenza infection Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
The upper respiratory tract (nasopharynx or NP) is the first site of influenza replication, allowing the virus to disseminate to the lower respiratory tract or promoting community transmission. The host response in the NP regulates an intricate balance between viral control and tissue pathology. The hyper-inflammatory responses promote epithelial injury, allowing for increased viral dissemination and susceptibility to secondary bacterial infections. However, the pathologic contributors to... - Lung microvascular occlusion by platelet-rich neutrophil-platelet aggregates promotes cigarette smoke induced severe flu Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
Cigarette smoking is associated with a higher risk of ICU admissions among flu patients. However, the etiological mechanism by which cigarette smoke (CS) exacerbates flu remains poorly understood. Here, we show that a mild dose of influenza A virus promotes a severe lung injury in mice pre-exposed to CS but not room air for four weeks. Real-time intravital (in vivo) lung imaging revealed that the development of acute severe respiratory dysfunction in CS and flu exposed mice was associated with... - Review of the potential pharmacological role of erucic acid: a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
This comprehensive review aims to provide an overview of the pharmacological properties of erucic acid (EA) and highlight areas that require further research. EA is an omega-9 fatty acid found in certain vegetable oil, such as rapeseed oil has demonstrated favourable effects in rodents, including ameliorating myocardial lipidosis (fat accumulation in the heart muscle), congestive heart disease, hepatic steatosis (fat accumulation in the liver), and memory impairments. These findings have... - Optimizing mood prior to influenza vaccination in older adults: A three-arm randomized controlled trial Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
CONCLUSIONS: Brief psychological interventions can improve mood prior to vaccination. However, altering antibody responses to highly immunogenic adjuvanted vaccines may require more targeted or prolonged interventions. The provision of choice did not notably enhance the interventions impact on mood or antibody outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved). - Age-specific resurgence in invasive pneumococcal disease incidence in the COVID-19 pandemic era and its association with respiratory virus and pneumococcal carriage dynamics: a time series analysis Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
Using multiple national surveillance systems, we found an increase in invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) incidence in the early post-COVID-19 pandemic period that strongly varied by age. Age-groups with higher incidence of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza also experienced higher increase in IPD incidence, with no change in pneumococcal carriage. - Time to treat the climate and nature crisis as one indivisible global health emergency Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0500
No abstract