According to a recent report by the American Medical Association (see link below), this is the worst flu season in 15 years (2009 H1N1 pandemic), and the first flu season since the COVID pandemic where flu hospitalizations outpace COVID hospitalizations.
As of Feb 8, there have been 370,000 hospitalizations and 16,000 deaths from influenza.
Most alarming, this year is on track to surpass last year’s 200 pediatric flu-related deaths.
One of the two currently circulating strains is H3N2, which is known to produce more severe disease. Since influenza viruses can infect the central nervous system that can mean more severe neurological symptoms.
H5N1 viruses, the strain of bird flu currently circulating can also lead to severe neurological symptoms such as seizure, meningitis, motor impairments and coma.
What determines a flu virus’s severity? Whether it infects birds or humans and whether it affects the nervous system? The answer is its docking site or receptor on the host cell. Bird flus recognize alpha 2,3 sialic acids and human flus recognize similar but slightly different alpha 2,6 sialic acids. Humans do have alpha 2,3 receptors but they are harder to reach since they are in the lungs past the nasal passages. This is why some humans get bird flu, but not that frequently.
Bird flus become dangerous to humans when they mutate and attain the ability to also bind alpha 2,6 receptors, located in the nose and throat of humans.
The upper respiratory system, i.e. the nasal passages and the throat can trap respiratory viruses. If effective, sequestering respiratory viruses here can greatly decrease incidences of severe disease and neuronal complications.
Sequestering viruses in the upper respiratory system, at the first point of contact can also help fight more severe strains of human viruses such as H3N2.
Our objective at Applied Biological Laboratories is to sequester viruses before they have a chance to cause severe disease, our formulas work to strengthen the innate immune system at the first point of contact.
