Note: I’m still away from home, connecting to the Internet via my netbook, and so my blogs will be considerably less verbose until I return on Sunday.
# 5211
A long, but informative piece on the virological and epidemiological findings of this winter’s outbreak of severe H1N1 in the UK appears in this week’s edition of Eurosurveillance.
ILI consultation rates for England and Wales comparing recent flu seasons.
The `money’ quote in this report deals with concerns over possible antigenic changes or mutations to the H1N1 virus.
Preliminary analyses from a limited number of whole genome sequences including some from fatal cases, indicate that these are consistent with observations from seasonal influenza and from the first and second waves of the recent pandemic: so far no unique mutations have been associated with severe or fatal cases of influenza A(H1N1)2009, but further comprehensive analysis is required.
The entire report is worth reading, and you’ll find it at the link below.
Eurosurveillance, Volume 16, Issue 1, 06 January 2011
Rapid communications
J Ellis, M Galiano, R Pebody, A Lackenby, CI Thompson, A Bermingham, E McLean, H Zhao, S Bolotin, O Dar, J M Watson, M Zambon
The 2010/11 winter influenza season is underway in the United Kingdom, with co-circulation of influenza A(H1N1)2009 (antigenically similar to the current 2010/11 vaccine strain), influenza B (mainly B/Victoria/2/87 lineage, similar to the 2010/11 vaccine strain) and a few sporadic influenza A(H3N2) viruses.
Clinical influenza activity has been increasing. Severe illness, resulting in hospitalisation and deaths, has occurred in children and young adults and has predominantly been associated with influenza A(H1N1)2009, but also influenza B viruses.
