新たな重症インフルエンザ株が全米で爆発的に増加中 – 今知っておくべきこと
A new, more severe flu variant is spreading all across the United States. Should we be worried? Hi everyone, I’m Dr. Omar Awan. I’m a physician and senior public health contributor for Forbes. There’s a new mutated strain of the H3N2 flu virus known as subclaid K that is spreading not only in America but also in Canada, Japan, and the UK. And I want to break down exactly what influenza is because there’s so much confusion about the alphabet soup regarding the common flu. So the common flu is caused by a virus known as influenza. And there’s four types of influenza. Influenza A, influenza B, influenza C, and influenza D. Now only two of them result in seasonal epidemics in humans. Influenza A, and influenza B. And B is easy because there’s only two different lineages. the Victoria lineage and the Yamagata lineage. Now, the A is where it gets really confusing because you have H1, N1, H3, N2, all these different combinations, and H and N are just terms for surface proteins on the virus. So, the H stands for hemoglutin, and that’s a surface protein that allows the virus to bind to the host cell. And there’s 18 different types of H. So it can be H1, H2, H3, all the way to H18. There’s 11 different types of neurominadase or the N protein that occurs on the influenza virus. And this protein is critical for the virus to then spread to other cells. So it can then spread and infect other different cells. And there’s 11 different types. So N1 2 3 all the way to N11. Okay. So this is how we characterize the alphabet sloop for influenza viruses. Now, the H3N2, which is the one that’s spreading here in the United States, what are the common symptoms that you should look out for? Well, just like all flu, the most common symptoms are things like fever, chills, headache, runny nose, coughing, muscle aches, body aches. But what’s key about the H3N2 is that it causes more severe symptoms. So, people may have higher fevers, and that can be problematic because that can result in hospitalizations, dehydration, and even difficulty breathing. So this is why this is so critical. Now is the H3N2 mutated strain, the subclaid K, is that dominant in America? Well, we don’t know. What we do know is that the H3N2 is the most dominant strain currently in America. But we don’t know if the subclaid K is what’s causing all of the different cases here in America. And that’s because the government hasn’t been tracking this for over 44 days from the government shutdown. Now they are tracking it, but it’s unclear if they’re going to actually track the subclaid K variant. So we are kind of flying blind and we don’t really know exactly if the subclaid K is actually dominant. But we do know that the H3N2 flu variant is the one that’s dominant here in America. Another important question is is that well does the vaccine that we have protect against this subclave K strain that we’re seeing? Well, the current flu vaccine is a trivalent vaccine means it protects against three different strains of influenza. So, it protects against the influenza A H1N1, the influenza A, H3N2, and the influenza B victoria lineage. So, you can see that there is protection against H3N2. But unfortunately, the flu virus or the flu vaccine doesn’t cover the subclaid K. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get vaccinated because some protection is better than no protection, right? And it does protect against H3N2 which the subclaid K is part of. But the subclaid K has gotten seven mutations so it can potentially evade some immunity and protection from the vaccine. But the purpose of the vaccine isn’t to prevent infection. And it’s really to prevent and minimize the risk of hospitalization, severe illness, and ultimately death because people do die from the flu. So this is why it’s critical that people still get vaccinated even though it’s not a perfect fit for subclate K. Well, what can you do to protect yourself during this flu season? Well, the first thing obviously is to get the vaccine, right? If you don’t get the vaccine, you’re not necessarily going to be fully protected. The CDC recommends everyone between the ages of 6 months and older to get the vaccine. The other thing is avoid indoor crowded areas because that’s when the virus can spread among people in confined areas. And if you do have to go to these areas, consider wearing a mask like an N95 or a KN95 mask that protects your face from inhaling particles through your nose or your mouth. And then finally, wash your hands. Wash your hands for 20 seconds to get all those germs off of your body. And then cover your mouth or nose when you sneeze and cough. All these things will help you stay protected. Thanks everyone. Hope that demystifies what the flu virus is and this uh strain that is very severe and that’s spreading all across the United States. As always, please be kind to yourself and to those around you and subscribe to the Med page.
A new, more severe flu strain is spreading across the United States, and an epidemic has already been declared in Japan. In this video, Dr. Omer Awan, Physician and Senior Public Health Contributor for Forbes, breaks down EXACTLY what you need to know: what Influenza is, which symptoms to watch out for, whether or not the flu vaccine can protect against the new severe strain, and what steps you can take today to protect yourself and your family.
If you’ve been hearing about a “new flu variant” or a “severe flu strain hitting the U.S.”, this video explains the science clearly, calmly, and accurately. #Flu2025 #SevereFluStrain #FluOutbreak
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