Influenza
- 28 June 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Reviews Disease Primers
- Vol. 4 (1), 3
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-018-0002-y
Abstract
Influenza is an infectious respiratory disease that, in humans, is caused by influenza A and influenza B viruses. Typically characterized by annual seasonal epidemics, sporadic pandemic outbreaks involve influenza A virus strains of zoonotic origin. The WHO estimates that annual epidemics of influenza result in ~1 billion infections, 3–5 million cases of severe illness and 300,000–500,000 deaths. The severity of pandemic influenza depends on multiple factors, including the virulence of the pandemic virus strain and the level of pre-existing immunity. The most severe influenza pandemic, in 1918, resulted in >40 million deaths worldwide. Influenza vaccines are formulated every year to match the circulating strains, as they evolve antigenically owing to antigenic drift. Nevertheless, vaccine efficacy is not optimal and is dramatically low in the case of an antigenic mismatch between the vaccine and the circulating virus strain. Antiviral agents that target the influenza virus enzyme neuraminidase have been developed for prophylaxis and therapy. However, the use of these antivirals is still limited. Emerging approaches to combat influenza include the development of universal influenza virus vaccines that provide protection against antigenically distant influenza viruses, but these vaccines need to be tested in clinical trials to ascertain their effectiveness.Keywords
This publication has 234 references indexed in Scilit:
- Characterization of Regional Influenza Seasonality Patterns in China and Implications for Vaccination Strategies: Spatio-Temporal Modeling of Surveillance DataPLoS Medicine, 2013
- Broadly neutralizing antibodies against influenza virus and prospects for universal therapiesCurrent Opinion in Virology, 2012
- Efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines: a systematic review and meta-analysisThe Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2012
- Avian-origin H3N2 canine influenza A viruses in Southern ChinaInfection, Genetics and Evolution, 2010
- Rapid cloning of high-affinity human monoclonal antibodies against influenza virusNature, 2008
- The genomic and epidemiological dynamics of human influenza A virusNature, 2008
- Haemagglutinin mutations responsible for the binding of H5N1 influenza A viruses to human-type receptorsNature, 2006
- Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations in the United StatesJAMA, 2004
- The role of serum haemagglutination-inhibiting antibody in protection against challenge infection with influenza A2 and B virusesEpidemiology and Infection, 1972
- A VIRUS OBTAINED FROM INFLUENZA PATIENTSThe Lancet, 1933