Severe Flu Strain H3N2 Spreading,Raising Concerns for U.S.
WASHINGTON - As a severe strain of influenza, H3N2, causes outbreaks in Canada and the United Kingdom, health experts are warning of potential impacts in the United States. While cases of flu A are being reported across the country, comprehensive national surveillance data is currently limited due to the ongoing government shutdown.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not released a detailed national report on flu activity since September 26. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, cautioned that recent staffing cuts at the CDC – the Department of Health and Human Services announced potential cuts of up to 10,000 full-time jobs in the public health sector earlier this year – could further delay data collection and analysis. “We are going to be dependent on state laboratories and academic laboratories for these investigations and report them out,” Schaffner said. “The facts will not be as comprehensive, centralized and as quickly analyzed and communicated from the CDC as we have had in previous years.”
This year’s flu vaccines are designed to protect against three strains of influenza, including two types of influenza A and one type of influenza B, based on strains circulating in the Southern Hemisphere. While the vaccine doesn’t prevent infection, it aims to lessen illness severity. Last year, the vaccine was up to 55% effective in preventing hospitalization among adults, according to the CDC.
Preliminary data from the U.K. indicates this year’s vaccine is up to 40% effective in preventing hospitalization among adults. Despite potential mismatches between the vaccine and circulating strains, Schaffner urges vaccination. “All of the data over previous decades shows that even if there is not a close match,use of the vaccine continues to prevent hospitalizations,intensive care unit admissions and continues to help keep people out of the cemetery,” he said.
