Influenza: virus not new, fewer cases expected

(ANSA) - ROME, SEPTEMBER 29 - The A-H3N2 influenza virus isolated in a 9-month-old baby in Parma - the first case identified and which marks the official start of the 2020-21 flu season in our country - it is a virus "not new, against which a large part of the adult population has therefore already developed antibodies". This was stated to ANSA by Adriana Calderaro, director of the School of Specialization in Microbiology and Virology at the University of Parma, whose team carried out the isolation of the first case. For this, he stresses, "we do not expect large numbers in the adult population". This, he stresses, "gives good hope that less overlap with Covid symptoms can come about". "This is a virus that is not new and has already circulated in recent years, in the last 4 years, and for which - explains Calderaro - the majority of the population has therefore already developed antibodies. Much of the adult population has already encountered this virus ". For this, the expert underlines, "in the adult population we do not expect large numbers in terms of cases" and, therefore, the hope is that by foreseeing fewer cases at the moment, we can also determine a smaller overlap between cases of seasonal flu and cases with similar symptoms but from Covid-19. At the moment, he says, "the situation is not alarming" (ANSA).