The Flu Virus Can Shape Shift—Here's How You Can Outsmart It
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Flu cases are through the roof across the US right now. And, while cold and flu season always packs a punch, it feels like this year has been especially bad. That's because a common strain of flu has gotten better at surviving—and getting people sick, new research suggests.
The study, which was published in February in the journal Nature Microbiology, found that influenza A viral particles can actually adapt their shape to remain infectious and stick around longer, ultimately driving up flu cases. Here’s what the study found, plus what infectious disease doctors want you to know about how you can keep yourself safe out there right now.
Meet the experts: Thomas Russo, MD, is a professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York; infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
What did the new study find?
For the study, researchers analyzed influenza A particles in a lab to see how they responded to environmental conditions. They discovered that the particles could change their shape to be either spheres or larger filaments (a slender shape) to better infect cells based on certain environmental conditions.
This ability, which wasn’t detected in the past, could help explain how flu A is able to stick around in populations and even break through the existing immunity you may have already built up.
How does a virus become more infectious?
In this case, flu A viruses have learned to mutate to stay alive longer, which in turn makes it more likely that you (and everyone around you) gets infected. “With a change in genome, it can rapidly change shape to its survival advantage,” says Thomas Russo, MD, a professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York.
This isn't necessarily new info, but experts hadn't observed this specific shape-shifting in the flu before. Viruses generally tend to mutate to become more infectious, explains infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
What’s the difference between flu A and flu B?
There are actually four different strains of the flu—A, B, C, and D—but A and B are the most common in our population and the ones responsible for waves of flu cases every fall and winter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Flu A can infect people and animals, while flu B is mostly a human virus. There are also 130 different subtype combinations of flu A, while flu B has just two lineages (B/Yamagata and B/Victoria), per the CDC. Fun fact: B/Yamagata strains haven’t been detected since the COVID-19 pandemic began, so flu B is technically down to just B/Victoria right now.
On the whole, flu A viruses tend to cause a more intense illness, Dr. Russo says. “Both flu A and flu B can be lethal, but flu A tends to cause more severe disease,” he says. Another major difference, according to Dr. Adalja: Flu B “does not cause pandemics,” but flu A does.
How concerned should I be?
The latest study findings may feel a little unnerving, but Dr. Russo points out that this doesn’t mean the flu has suddenly changed. “This is something that’s been going on forever—we’re just becoming aware that the virus can change form to something that’s most advantageous to survive and propagate,” he says.
Still, there’s a lot of flu virus flying around out there right now, and Dr. Russo says it’s important to do what you can to lower the odds you’ll contract it.
How can I protect myself?
You’ve heard this before, but doctors stress that getting the flu vaccine is the best way to protect yourself. While being vaccinated against the flu isn’t a guarantee that you won’t get infected, it can still lower the odds you’ll get seriously ill from the virus. Also, make sure to wash your hands often, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
If you’re considered high risk for serious complications of the flu (or you have something coming up that you don’t want to be sick for), Dr. Adalja says it’s also worth masking up in crowded indoor settings, too.
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