'If it's gone, it's a big deal': Researchers want to know if one of the four main influenza strains that infect humans has disappeared
this year as Covid-19 restrictions have largely been lifted, but predicting the flu cycle’s severity is difficult.
Influenza B viruses account for about 25% of human flu infections on average, and the other influenza B strain—the Victoria lineage—continues to circulate. The two strains were found in the 1980s, and the names refer to the places they were first identified. Scientists believe it will take at least another year to verify whether Yamagata is extinct. Many are cautious about jumping to conclusions, as there is so little flu circulating in the aftermath of Covid-19 restrictions. The strain of flu that makes up the bulk of cases can vary from year to year, they say.Dr. Koutsakos and his colleagues based their research on the GISAID database.
“Until we can get back to some normal type of surveillance, I think it would be difficult to be sure that it’s gone,” he said. The WHO said it doesn’t consider Yamagata to have disappeared as a few cases have been reported, albeit without genetic sequencing for confirmation. It said there was no discussion about omitting Yamagata from the four-strain flu vaccine at the committee’s most recent meeting in September.
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