During the COVID-19 pandemic, flu cases dropped to historic lows - a phenomenon experts attribute to mask wearing and other precautions to combat the novel coronavirus.
Interestingly, two types of flu viruses haven't shown up on anyone's radar for a year, meaning there have been no reported cases of these viruses anywhere in the world, STAT reported.
Experts don't yet know if these types have gone extinct, but if so, officials could have an easier time picking the strains of flu viruses included in the seasonal flu shot, STAT reported.
To explain which flu viruses may have gone extinct, it helps to understand how flu viruses are classified. Two families of flu viruses cause seasonal flu: influenza A and influenza B. Influenza A viruses are divided into "subtypes" based on two proteins on their surface known as hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Currently, H1N1 and H3N2 circulate in people, and each of these subtypes is further broken down into "clades." ...<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...