Areas across the United States and Europe are seeing an increase in a new influenza variant, researchers say, although it’s not yet clear if a new flu variant is causing more severe disease than usual in people.
In response to a question about which geographic areas in the United States are affected, Pekosz said, “Right now, we’re seeing clade K everywhere we are seeing influenza.”
There have been reports that the “disease is particularly strong in children” and reports of elderly having higher hospitalization rates, noting that researchers are trying to determine if the “clade K influenza virus is evading immunity” and making people more likely to get sick or if the variant is causing more severe illness on a “case-by-case basis,” Pekosz said in the news conference.
It’s not “completely clear” as to what the variant is doing so far, he continued. But what is clear to researchers is that flu “cases are increasing and we are seeing a lot of influenza cases” across the United States, Pekosz said.
“The flu comes around every winter, but this year is a little different,” said Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, in a statement. “It shows how even a small genetic variation in the flu virus can place enormous pressure on our health systems because people do not have built-up immunity against it.”
A number of diseases tend to peak in the winter. The list includes not only colds, flu, and COVID-19, but also norovirus—a highly infectious cause of vomiting and diarrhea. Norovirus cases have generally been trending up in the last month.
“RSV activity is increasing in the Southeastern, Southern, and Mid-Atlantic areas of the country with emergency department visits and hospitalizations increasing among children 0–4 years old,” the agency said on Dec. 12.