Headline: Gripa’s New Wave: Why This Season’s Flu is Targeting Kids and Teens
Gripa is making waves this season, with an unprecedented surge in flu cases among children and young adults, according to reports from hospitals’ emergency units.
Medical journal Le Point confirms this trend, noting that the dominant viruses circulating this season are influenza A(H1N1) and type B. While these viruses are no strangers, they’ve peculiarities that set them apart from the traditional influenza A(H3N2) strain. Professor Bruno Lina, a virologist at Lyon’s International Research Center in Infectiology (CIRI) and a member of the Committee for Monitoring and Anticipating Health Risks (Covars), explains that the A(H1N1) virus primarily affects individuals aged 25 to 55. This is because their immune systems haven’t previously encountered the H1N1 virus, unlike older adults who were exposed to it in their youth.
Type B viruses are proving particularly virulent in children aged 5 to 15, presenting with pronounced symptoms such as fever, aches, and fatigue. "It’s quite common to see kids complaining of muscle pain for days," says a specialist in infectious diseases. "These symptoms are transient and not severe."
The ECDC reports that this season’s flu seems to be sparing the elderly, with lower presence of the A(H3N2) virus, which could prevent last year’s alarming mortality rate. However, Professor Lina warns that these viruses can be catastrophic in elderly care homes, with mortality rates between 6 and 15%.
Professor Lina remains humble about our collective understanding of the flu, stating, "We still have much to learn about the flu." He emphasizes the importance of monitoring viruses in the Southern Hemisphere this winter to select the correct strains for Northern Hemisphere vaccinations next season.
In our country, the National Institute for Public Health reported 57,184 respiratory infections (flu, IACRS, and pneumonias) in the last week of 2024, a 6.2% increase compared to the same week last season (53,870 cases) and a 35.8% decrease compared to the previous week (89,109 cases).
