2 deadly influenza viruses in humans are almost extinct

According to the reports collected, there are very few cases of flu occurring during the Covid-19 pandemic. This has led scientists to ask, "Are some influenza viruses extinct?"

While the Covid-19 pandemic is taking its toll, flu cases are falling to historic lows. Experts say that wearing a mask and taking other precautions to fight the coronavirus have inadvertently been effective in mitigating the flu.

Interestingly, there have been 2 influenza viruses that have barely appeared in any person during the past year . It means that there are no recorded cases of flu in the world. Experts are still unsure if these species are extinct. But local officials will have extra considerations before including flu virus strains on the seasonal flu shot list.

To explain which flu viruses are extinct, we first need to understand how influenza viruses are classified. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Control vaccine (CDC) said: 2 influenza viruses cause seasonal flu as influenza A and influenza B . Currently, influenza H1N1 and H3N2 are two types of influenza circulating in humans. However, each type of flu will have different characteristics.

Influenza H1N1 and H3N2 are two types of influenza that have circulated in humans.

The influenza B virus does not subtype or subgroup into two strains known as B/Yamagata and B/Victoria . A sub-branch of H3N2 is called 3c3.A. They are reported to have been absent since March 2020, similar to the B/Yamagata series that is also no longer seen.

According to Florian Krammer, a virologist at the Icahn Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, sharing his thoughts on the B/Yamagata flu strain: "Just because nobody has seen them doesn't mean they're gone completely. However, here we go. could also be a foreshadowing of them."

The more diverse the influenza viruses, the more dangerous and costly . Each year, scientists research and produce a flu vaccine several months before flu season begins. Lower influenza virus diversity means a smaller group of circulating viruses, leading to a greater ability to integrate different strains in the same injection.

The more diverse the influenza viruses, the more dangerous and costly.

The H3N2 viruses are a particularly diverse group that emerged before the Covid-19 pandemic, whose groups are increasingly genetically diverse. So a drop in diversity for this flu would be a "wonderful thing".

Webby warns about viruses that can still exist even if we don't notice their presence. But the dramatic drop in flu cases this year will likely bring some changes to the flu.