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.

• 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

• 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

• 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