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.

Study highlights the challenges involved in designing universal flu vaccine

Some common strains of influenza have the potential to mutate to evade broad-acting antibodies that could be elicited by a universal flu vaccine, according to a study led by scientists at Scripps Research.

23 Jun 2020

Study discovers inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 entry priming protein by approved drug

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome -coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread to most of the world, causing millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths. A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* shows that a protease inhibitor drug already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could inhibit viral entry.

6 May 2020

Missing COVID-19 antibodies suggest mystery immune response

Researchers at Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center have made important discoveries about the immune response among patients who have recovered from mild COVID-19 disease that could help to inform prevention and treatment methods, as well as improve the efficacy of community testing.

13 Apr 2020

Common coronaviruses are sharply seasonal and appear to transmit like influenza

Of the seven coronaviruses known to infect people, four cause common respiratory infections that are sharply seasonal and appear to transmit similarly to influenza, according to a new study by University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers.

7 Apr 2020

Research reveals new pathogenic mechanism for influenza NS1 protein

Influenza is a deadly virus, with about 290,000 to 650,000 deaths worldwide each year. When pandemics hit, the toll can soar: The Spanish flu of 1918 caused 40 million to 50 million deaths, the Asian flu of 1957 caused 2 million deaths, and the Hong Kong flu of 1968 caused 1 million deaths.

16 Feb 2020

First exposure to influenza virus dictates our lifelong ability to fight flu

Were you born in an H1N1 year or an H3N2 year? The first type of influenza virus we are exposed to in early childhood dictates our ability to fight the flu for the rest of our lives, according to a new study from a team of infectious disease researchers at McMaster University and Université de Montréal.

30 Jan 2020

New antiviral drug drives treatment resistance in influenza viruses

On January 31, 2019, an 11-year old boy in Japan went to a medical clinic with a fever. The providers there diagnosed him with influenza, a strain called H3N2, and sent him home with a new medication called baloxavir.

25 Nov 2019

New flu drug makes influenza viruses develop resistance

Researchers have discovered a mutation in strains of influenza treated with a drug that makes the virus resistant to treatment.

25 Nov 2019

Novel antibodies could provide a universal flu vaccine

Now, a new study published in the journal Science on October 25, 2019, reports on a set of three novel antibodies that bind to another type of viral cell surface antigen called neuraminidase (NA) that is necessary for viral replication.

28 Oct 2019

Newly identified antibodies could lead to better treatments and vaccines for influenza

A newly identified set of three antibodies could lead to better treatments and vaccines against influenza, according to a paper published this week in Science.

25 Oct 2019

Infectious disease experts explain how to stay healthy during the flu season

About 40 million people contracted the flu last year, with hundreds of thousands hospitalized and 35,400 to 61,000 deaths, including 134 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

30 Sep 2019

Scientists 'on the right track' toward universal flu vaccine

New research could bring scientists a step closer to developing an effective, universal flu vaccine.

4 Jun 2019

Naturally occurring human antibody reveals hidden weakness in influenza virus

The ever-changing "head" of an influenza virus protein has an unexpected Achilles heel, report scientists funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, one of the National Institutes of Health.

17 May 2019

Common food preservative may influence effectiveness of flu vaccines

Michigan State University scientists have linked a common food preservative to an altered immune response that possibly hinders flu vaccines.

8 Apr 2019

Dogs could be source of novel human influenza strains, 10-year study suggests

Results from a 10-year study suggest two strains of influenza that could mix and form a dangerous new strain of influenza spread by dogs.

28 Mar 2019

Revolutionary ‘Heart in a Box’ transplantees hope for a bright future this Christmas

Last year two critically ill heart patients were facing an uncertain future, but this Christmas Scotland’s first revolutionary ‘Heart in a Box’ transplantees are looking forward with hope.

21 Dec 2018

New DNA vaccine strategy protects mice against lethal challenge by multiple H3N2 viruses

Researchers developed a novel DNA influenza vaccine based on four micro-consensus antigenic regions selected to represent the diversity of seasonal H3N2 viruses across decades.

18 Oct 2018

Genentech announces Phase III study results of baloxavir marboxil in people at high risk of flu

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that the Phase III CAPSTONE-2 study showed treatment with baloxavir marboxil significantly reduced the time to improvement of influenza symptoms versus placebo in people at high risk of serious complications from the flu, which includes adults 65 years of age or older, or those who have conditions such as asthma, chronic lung disease, morbid obesity, or heart disease.

4 Oct 2018

Investigational nasal influenza vaccine tested in children and teens

An early-stage clinical trial testing the safety and immune-stimulating ability of an experimental nasal influenza vaccine in healthy 9- to 17-year-old children and teens has begun enrolling participants at a Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit site at Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri.

17 Sep 2018

CDC recommends people get flu shots soon

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been 16 weeks of non-stop flu season last year leading to 700,000 hospitalizations due to influenza as well as pneumonias that occurred as complications.

12 Sep 2018