H3N2 News and Research

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Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 (also H3N2) is a subtype of viruses that cause influenza (flu). H3N2 viruses can infect birds and mammals. In birds, humans, and pigs, the virus has mutated into many strains. H3N2 is increasingly abundant in seasonal influenza, which kills an estimated 36,000 people in the United States each year.

Areas with higher 1968 influenza pandemic mortality have lower COVID-19 deaths

A new study demonstrates the influence of prior infectious outbreaks in a large population on succeeding pandemic outcomes.

31 Oct 2021

Reusing old vaccines to boost innate immunity against COVID-19

The COVID-19 vaccine is currently the best form of protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants. But a new perspective article published in the journal PNAS suggests it’s not the panacea to stopping SARS-CoV-2.

31 May 2021

Previous H3N2 influenza A infection may explain some cases of severe COVID-19

According to research from the University of California, some cases of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may be related to the immunological memory of previous H3N2 influenza A infection.

26 May 2021

Combo COVID-flu vaccine protects against current and emerging variants in animal model

Now, in new research posted to the bioRxiv preprint server, scientists at Novavax, Inc. present a vaccine including recombinant influenza hemagglutinin (HA) antigen along with recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, with saponin Matrix-M adjuvant. Both have passed independent safety tests in phase 1 trials.

10 May 2021

Mechano-immunological response to SARS-CoV-2

In a recent study, researchers demonstrated a human organ-on-a-chip (Organ Chip) microfluidic model of the lung alveolus (Alveolus Chip) - that recapitulates the human alveolar-capillary interface with an air-liquid interface (ALI) and vascular fluid flow to understand the local triggers in the lung in vitro.

5 May 2021

UGA receives NIH contract to establish the Center for Influenza Disease and Emergence Research

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of Georgia a contract to establish the Center for Influenza Disease and Emergence Research.

15 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 mutations impact T-cell recognition of virus

A new research paper posted to the bioRxiv preprint server deals with the impact of these mutations on adaptive cellular immunity.

14 Apr 2021

Study: COVID-19 vaccines may remain effective against new influenza viruses

Influenza vaccines need to be evaluated every year to ensure they remain effective against new influenza viruses.

26 Mar 2021

Vaccine candidate shows promise to protect against dozen-plus flu strains

Ask Eric Weaver about pandemics, and he's quick to remind you of a fact that illustrates the fleeting nature of human memory and the proximal nature of human attention: The first pandemic of the 21st century struck not in 2019, but 2009.

3 Mar 2021

Study: First influenza infection does not make people immune to future flu viruses

A child's first influenza infection shapes their immunity to future airborne flu viruses-;including emerging pandemic strains.

19 Feb 2021

Probiotics may be beneficial in COVID-19 treatment

A new study explores the role of common probiotics in managing the disease, which could prove to be of great value, given the emergence of new variants and the broad spectrum of clinical disease in COVID-19.

17 Feb 2021

Study indicates that 2019-2020 flu season was driven by a new, more transmissible strain

The 2019-2020 flu season in the U.S. was unusual in a number of ways. Cases picked up in August rather than the more typical fall and early winter months, and it hit children particularly hard. It was also dominated early on by a Type B influenza virus instead of one of the much more common Type A viruses like H1N1 or H3N2.

5 Feb 2021

Combining genetic and experimental data can enable more accurate prediction of influenza virus

Combining genetic and experimental data into models about the influenza virus can help predict more accurately which strains will be most common during the next winter, says a study published recently in eLife.

14 Oct 2020

Can amodiaquine short circuit this pandemic?

A recent study by the US researchers highlights the value of the human organ chip technology as a more robust and physiologically relevant platform for rapid drug repurposing, and suggest that amodiaquine may be used to prevent the infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

15 Sep 2020

Middle-aged adults may be in a perpetual state of H3N2 flu virus vulnerability

Penn Medicine researchers have found that middle-aged individuals -- those born in the late 1960s and the 1970s -- may be in a perpetual state of H3N2 influenza virus susceptibility because their antibodies bind to H3N2 viruses but fail to prevent infections, according to a new study led by Scott Hensley, PhD, an associate professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

12 Sep 2020

Influenza A virus can spread by airborne aerosolized fomites, finds study

Viruses like the influenza virus and even the novel coronavirus are capable of spreading from person to person via airborne droplets as well as dust, fibers, and other surfaces. Now, a new study provides evidence of airborne virus transport on microscopic particles called “aerosolized fomites.”

20 Aug 2020

Influenza-virus-based vaccine platform another viable option against SARS-CoV-2

In a novel proof of concept study, published on the bioRxiv preprint server, U.S. researchers used attenuated influenza viral particles that express severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding domain to induce neutralizing antibodies in mice – unveiling another viable vaccine candidate for preventing coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

14 Aug 2020

Oxford Nanopore Technologies partners with UK Government to roll out LamPORE, a new generation of COVID-19 test

Oxford Nanopore today announces an agreement with the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care, to roll out its novel LamPORE test.

From Oxford Nanopore Technologies 3 Aug 2020

New mutation in common subtype of influenza virus helps evade immune response

Strains of a common subtype of influenza virus, H3N2, have almost universally acquired a mutation that effectively blocks antibodies from binding to a key viral protein, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

12 Jul 2020

Early life exposure to influenza shapes our susceptibility to future infections

Early infections of influenza A can help predict how the virus will affect people across different ages in the future and could impact the effectiveness of flu vaccines, says a new study published today in eLife.

7 Jul 2020