Influenza is one of the most prevalent and serious infectious diseases plaguing the U.S. It is a respiratory disease that is characterized by a fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle aches, and fatigue. It is usually spread via respiratory droplets, meaning it is a form of direct transmission. Droplet transmission is most likely to occur if someone directly sneezes or coughs on you, so avoiding close-quarter contact and implementing good coughing/sneezing practices, are a good way to protect yourself and others from contracting the flu, among other things. Peaking around late fall to mid-spring, the flu is a serious threat in the winter. It affects around 8% of Americans each year, however, this number varies depending on the effectiveness of the vaccine and type of influenza going around that year. It causes the most serious health effects in individuals that are immunocompromised, so adults over 65 years of age, children under the age of 5, and patients with compromising diseases. However, the flu infects more children than any other age group. There are several types of influenza, some causing infection in humans, others not. The two types that commonly infect humans are Type A and B, which are differentiated through their surface proteins.
The current flu season has been characterized as a seemingly normal flu season, with hospitalization rates similar to that of recent years. However, there has been an increase in the morbidity and mortality rates of influenza in children. The possible reason for this increase will be discussed further in the last paragraph, which focuses on vaccine efficacy. The predominant type of influenza circulating this flu season is Type B, specifically the Victoria lineage, with 59.3% of people infected with influenza testing positive for the Type B type. However, interestingly enough, more people tested positive for Type A than Type B in this last week. In particular, they mostly tested positive for the H1N1pdm 09 strain. A few tested positive for the H3N2 strain, which is also Type A. So far, there have been an estimated 22 million flu illnesses, 210,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 deaths from flu, which, as mentioned above, is similar statistics when compared to recent years.
A vaccine for influenza is available and is usually administered at the start of the flu season, which is usually in October. Some complain that the vaccine is not effective, or that every time they get the vaccine, they get the flu. This common complaint is riddled with myths, as the vaccine does not cause you to get the flu. The exact statistics regarding the effectiveness of the 2019-2020 flu vaccine have not yet been published, but according to the CDC, the 2018-2019 vaccine was 29% effective for all ages and all types of flu. While this seems relatively low, any protection against the flu is better than no protection. Getting the flu shot may also help reduce the severity of the symptoms of the flu if you do contract it. One problem that the current vaccine does face, however, is that it is not the best match for the Type B version of the virus, which is a problem considering more people have developed Type B rather than Type A. According to one of the top infectious disease professionals, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the vaccine is only around a 58% match for the Type B virus. This is a particularly important problem because children usually are infected with the Type B virus. This discrepancy may help account for the increase in incidence rates among children. However, Fauci reports that the vaccine is a great match to the H1N1 strain of the virus.
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