(NewsNation) — As the winter season fully kicks in, it’s expected that people across the country will get sick. Except this time, a new illness has sounded the alarm — the “super flu.”
The “super flu” is a variant of influenza A H3N2 called subclade K that doctors say is more severe and takes longer to recover from.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the super flu first made headlines in the United Kingdom, before making its way over the Atlantic to the U.S.
“The United Kingdom got hit pretty hard by this,” as did Europe and Australia, said Neil Maniar of Northeastern University. “I think that’s a pretty good harbinger of what we are likely to see here. This is going to be a very difficult flu season.”
So, what are the symptoms of super flu? What treatments can people get to prevent it? What are doctors saying about the illness and where have the worst outbreaks occurred?
What are the symptoms of ‘super flu ‘?
Similar to the effects of regular flu, the super flu can lead to more severe symptoms.
The symptoms reported include:
-High fever
-Severe body aches
-Extreme fatigue
-Persistent cough
-Sore throat
-Intense headaches
“The dominant strain is not very well-aligned with the vaccine this year, which means there is potentially a larger proportion of the population that is susceptible to the flu,” Maniar added.
People who have encountered the super flu have also noticed shortness of breath, chest pain, gastrointestinal issues, and prolonged weakness.
What are treatments for ‘super flu’?
With the rise in cases not slowing down, doctors have acknowledged that antiviral medications are the key tool for combating the flu and super flu.
The CDC recommends four specific drugs: Tamiflu, Xofluza, Relenza, and Rapivab.
Xofluza is a pill taken for early treatment of uncomplicated flu in people 5 years and older. Relenza is the medication for people 7 years and older, while Rapivab is provided for early treatment of flu in people 6 months and older.
“Be sure to drink plenty of fluids, get sufficient rest and take Tylenol or Advil to manage fever, headaches and muscle aches at home,” noted Dr. Mark Mulligan, NYU Langone Health’s Vaccine Center.
What are doctors saying about ‘super flu’?
Doctors have been warning about the flu since September, but the super flu has them on high alert.
“This can be a very serious illness. We need to take it seriously, and we need to take measures to protect ourselves,” Maniar said. “As we go deeper into the flu season, this is likely to be a tough one.”
University of Oxford’s Professor Christophe Fraser adds the super flu “was basically spreading at a very similar speed to previous years, it was towards the upper end, but it wasn’t an outlier.”
Medical professionals are advising people to still get vaccines or immunotherapy to have less chance of contracting super flu.
“It is certainly not too late, especially as we’re thinking about holiday gatherings and travel,” said infectious disease specialist Dr. Andrew Pekosz. “Now would be a great time for individuals to go out and get that last influenza vaccine or that COVID vaccine to provide one layer of protection for this holiday season.”
Where have ‘super flu’ outbreaks been the worse?
As of last week, the CDC said the country’s hospitalization rate went up by 14.3 % because of the super flu spreading.
The outbreaks have really took hold in New York, Louisiana and Colorado. On its own, Manhattan had a 104% spike in cases earlier this month.
“We see the sudden spike in New York because of their more dense population,” said Hartford Hospital’s Dr. Ulysses Wu. “They’re a center for international as well as domestic travel.”
Beyond those three states, Rhode Island and New Jersey have also been hit hard by the illness.