New Super Flu strain is quietly spreading — and doctors say this season could be brutal

Mutations in flu strains are pretty common and usually go unnoticed. However, this year, the common Influenza A virus has surprised researchers a little extra.

According to a New York Times report, citing doctors, the United States and the world are bracing for a brutal flu season because of a new and alarming variant — H3N2 subclade K.

Dr Scott Roberts, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at the Yale School of Medicine, told the NYT that this subvariant of the virus will likely spread more than in previous years, leading to more infections overall, because it may be more adept at avoiding immunity from vaccines and previous infections.

He noted that last year’s flu season was the roughest in nearly a decade, saying that generally, there aren't two bad flu seasons in a row. “But a lot of us are concerned that with this new, slightly more-mutated-than-usual subclade K strain, that we may see that,” he said.

This specific type of variant has several mutations that differentiate it from previous versions, making it a “cousin of what we’ve always had,” Dr Scott Roberts told NYT.

It is unclear yet whether the subclade K can cause more severe disease than past H3N2 variants, said Scott Hensley, a microbiology professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Drifted influenza A(H3N2) strain (also now known as subclade K) currently dominates cases in England, the UK government said.

This is a key warning sign that things may worsen in the United States, too, soon. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that cases of the flu in the US are about at the level researchers would expect for this time of year; however, the virus is steadily spreading.

“The flu season has started early this year,” Dr Thomas Waite, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, UK Health Security Agency, said. “Now is the time to get vaccinated if you are eligible.”

A NYT report said preliminary results from Dr Hensley’s lab, testing whether people who got their flu shot this year can produce antibodies to fight the new variant, are encouraging. “There may be less of a vaccine mismatch than many people initially believed,” he told NYT.

According to UK.gov, the effectiveness of the flu vaccine varies from season to season, but is typically between 30% and 60%, with higher vaccine effectiveness typically seen in younger age groups.

Dr Jamie Lopez Bernal, Consultant Epidemiologist for Immunisation at UK Health Security Agency, said that irrespective of the strains that circulate this winter, “we can be confident that the vaccine will still help to protect those most vulnerable from developing serious illness and being hospitalised.”

“We strongly encourage all those eligible to get vaccinated against flu as soon as possible – it remains our best defence against serious illness,” she said.

“The vaccine is your armour. It’s going to prevent you from getting badly beaten,” Dr Seema Lakdawala told NYT. “But it’s not going to get you to win the war.”

To minimise the risk of catching the H3N2 subclade K, doctors suggest practising basic hygiene — frequently washing hands, wearing a mask in crowds and improving ventilation.

They also suggest disinfecting hard surfaces where the flu virus can linger for more than a day, especially phones.

However, according to a NYT report, super flu affects patients faster than other respiratory viruses — instead of the gradual progression of runny noses and aching throats that can come with Covid, super flu patients experience all the signs of the flu, such as fevers, congestion, chills, and full-body aches.