Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him)

For the first time since the early pandemic days, at least š˜Øš˜­š˜°š˜£š˜¢š˜­š˜­š˜ŗ, #influenza [#flu] š—½š—²š—暝—°š—²š—»š˜š—®š—“š—² š—½š—¼š˜€š—¶š˜š—¶š˜ƒš—¶š˜š˜† overtook #SARSCoV2 [#COVID19] for a time driven by northern hemisphere winter, according to #WHO #FluNet Update NĀ° 443

https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/influenza-update-n--443

Influenza Update NĀ° 443

In this update, in addition to the influenza surveillance information, that of the SARS-CoV-2 surveillance by the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) through its associated sentinel and non-sentinel surveillance systems and reported to FluNet is included. Information on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is included where available.

Apr 19, 2023 at 12:19amElk
Show threadIan M. Mackay, PhD (he/him)Apr 19, 2023
@who You can see that the European region has had a couple of #Flu seasons compared to"the world". Are we starting to see the interaction between flu & #SARSCoV2 in these data (at the population level). It would be gr8 to overlay RSV on these graphs #WHO (& all viruses, but I understand:Slightly smiling face:)
Show threadGabriele PollaraApr 19, 2023

@mackayim2022

Interesting. Do you mean interaction in that they seem to alternate.

Would be fascinating to see if it holds widely and then to consider mechanisms, but probably a bit too early for that still.

@who

#flu #SarsCoV2 #who

Show threadIan M. Mackay, PhD (he/him)Apr 19, 2023
@gpollara @who Yes, exactly. When one dominates the other doesn't. This is driven by **interferon** as a result of the early non-specific immune response to these inflammatory agents. The process is called 'virus interference'. Interferon got its name from seeing viruses trigger a substance that blocked super infection of cells.
Show threadGiuseppe MichieliApr 19, 2023
@mackayim2022 Italy, for example, experienced the worst human flu epidemic since 2017/18, with persistent activity even in late spring, after an early start in Oct./Nov. '22. Couple with RSV, the Hospital system was quickly strained.
Show threadIan M. Mackay, PhD (he/him)Apr 19, 2023
@GMIK69 Thanks, Northern Hemisphere, for the FluB & A/H1N1 season, we're getting down here! šŸ˜„