It is possible that some influenza viruses have become extinct, is it the effect of measures against the new coronavirus infection?
It has been reported that the
Flu virus became less diverse, simplifying task of making flu shots --STAT
https://www.statnews.com/2021/06/02/pandemic-upside-flu-virus-became-less-diverse-simplifying-task-of-making-flu-shots/
2 types of flu viruses may have gone extinct | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/flu-virus-types-extinct-covid-19.html
'Influenza virus' is divided into 'A type', 'B type' and 'C type', and of these, seasonal influenza with severe symptoms is brought about by 'A type' and 'B type'.
'Influenza A virus' is further classified as a subtype by the combination of the proteins 'hemagglutinin (HA)' and 'neuraminidase (NA)'. The most popular in recent years are 'H1N1' and 'H3N2', which are further subdivided into clades.
On the other hand, 'influenza B virus' can be divided into 'B / Victoria (Victoria strain)' and 'B / Yamagata (Yamagata strain)'.
According to the scientific news site STAT, one of the branches of 'H3N2', '3c3.A' and 'B / Yamagata', has not been detected since March 2020. Experts comment on this, although 'undetected' and 'no case reports' do not mean that it has become extinct, but it may be extinct.
If it is extinct and the diversity of influenza viruses is lost, the production of influenza vaccines will be a little easier.
Vaccines are created by scientists every year by predicting 'which strain is most likely to be the next epidemic', so the less diverse the vaccine, the more likely it is that the vaccine will match the actual virus. .. In particular, 'H3N2' is rich in diversity, and it is thought that genetic diversification has progressed almost every year before the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection. For this reason, experts confess that 'diversity was a headache when choosing a vaccine strain.'
Related Posts:
in Science, Posted by logc_nt