“Dual mutant” strains of H1N1 influenza have been confirmed in at least two people in America, but medicines may not be able to combat the strains.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published details about the strains identified as I223V and S247N in its Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, Fox News reported on Friday.
The strains have shown they are resistant to antiviral medications medical professionals use to treat patients suffering from the illness. Those medications include Tamiflu or oseltamivir, the Fox report explained.
In the journal’s article, scientists said in conclusion:
We report the emergence and intercontinental spread of pH1N1 viruses displaying reduced susceptibility to oseltamivir resulting from acquisition of NA-I223V + S247N mutations. Emergence of the dual mutants was also recently noticed by researchers in Hong Kong (10). The dual mutants that we tested retained susceptibility to other approved influenza antiviral drugs, including baloxavir. Analysis of available sequence data revealed that dual mutants have been in global circulation since May 2023; overall detection frequency was low (0.67%, 101/15,003). However, those data may not necessarily represent the actual proportion of what was in circulation because of differences in surveillance and sequencing strategies in each country.
The article also said, “Our study highlights the need to closely monitor evolution of dual mutants because additional changes may further affect susceptibility to antiviral drugs or provide a competitive advantage over circulating wild-type viruses.”
According to the CDC, antiviral medications are an option for people sick with influenza (flu), noting that “Antiviral drugs work best when started early, ideally no later than two days after your flu symptoms begin.”
“Treatment of flu with influenza antiviral medications works best when started within two days after flu symptoms begin and can lessen symptoms and shorten the time you are sick by about a day. Starting antiviral treatment shortly after symptoms begin also can help reduce some flu complications,” the agency said.
In May, American officials reported the nation’s third human case of bird flu amid an outbreak that was affecting dairy cows, per AFP.
