A virologist spoke about the dangers of influenza A

On Thursday, December 20, 125 children from the Lugansk People’s Republic, who were returning home from the camp, were evacuated from the Tyumen-Adler passenger train. Unfortunately, one schoolgirl died. Rospotrebnadzor reported that children were diagnosed with influenza A. Professor Anatoly Altshtein from NICEM. N. F. Gamaleyi told RTVI journalists about how dangerous influenza A is, what you need to pay attention to and how to prevent the disease.

The expert said that Influenza A is predominantly the “Hong Kong virus” H3N5. In turn, “swine flu” – H1N1 – is its subtype. It is known that the “Hong Kong” virus began to spread throughout the world back in 1968, and the “swine” virus only since 2009. However, H1N1 was also the cause of a massive pandemic in 1918-1919, the expert said.

But in subsequent outbreaks in the 1950s and 1979, the virus was no longer as deadly as the Spanish flu. Millions or billions of people were infected with the flu back then, and the mortality rate was very high. Subsequently, the virus became less dangerous. Every year, influenza epidemics have varied in incidence in different countries, but in general, influenza has always been present in the world after 1918–1919.

Currently, the H3N2 subtype predominates. According to the professor, the H1N1 wave will be insignificant. The disease caused by H3N2 often begins severely, but resolves without complications in most patients. Deaths are quite rare, he emphasized.

It is possible that the cause of death of the schoolgirl, who was traveling on a train from Tyumen, was influenza, but there may be other reasons, Altstein noted.

Acute onset of illness, fever, headaches, muscle pain are typical symptoms of influenza. In addition, the usual respiratory symptoms such as runny nose, cough, sore throat may also be observed. Influenza differs from other respiratory viral diseases in its more severe course and abrupt onset of the disease, the expert recalled.