H3N2 – Is This Years Flu Strain
Posted Jan 10, 2011 05:53:23 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Last year it was the H1N1 flu virus. This year, the new bug is a different strain – H3N2.
Health officials say while a number of influenza strains are in constant rotation, typically one will dominate each flu season. Each year, strains mutate in unpredictable ways. And this year’s H3N2 version is so different from any that have appeared before that our immune systems have built up no natural resistance.
This strain is far more dangerous for seniors but Waterloo Region residents speaking with 570 News today offered mixed reaction to the idea of actually getting a flu shot.
Some say they don’t believe in the vaccination; others say it has proven to keep them healthy. Almost no one, however, had heard of the H3N2 virus or the danger it poses to the elderly.
That danger has led to Provincial Health Minister Deb Matthews urging people to take advantage of Ontario’s free flu shots.
