Influenza A, Once Known As "The Swine Flu" -- Is Again A 2026 Human-To-Human Virus Of Concern...

I am not being an undue alarmist, when I say. . . this is a very real concern. And it is a much more potent concern when the people at the head of the US public health system invert the food pyramid, and suggest alcohol is not any sort of serious health concern, for example.

And then there is the move to end automatic meningitis vaccines we mentioned a few days ago. But what was once called Swine Flu continues to circulate 20 years after the last major outbreak. And increasingly, leaders in America simply shrug at the excess death rates. This is. . . infuriating, but here is today's news rundown / roster -- on Influenza A (and several other viral outbreaks we've been traacking right along) -- as we begin 2026:

. . .Old viruses are constantly evolving. A warming and increasingly populated planet puts humans in contact with more and different viruses. And increased mobility means that viruses can rapidly travel across the globe along with their human hosts.

As an infectious diseases physician and researcher, I'll be keeping an eye on a few viruses in 2026 that could be poised to cause infections in unexpected places or in unexpected numbers. . . .

Influenza A is a perennial threat. The virus infects a wide range of animals and has the ability to mutate rapidly.

The most recent influenza pandemic -- caused by the H1N1 subtype of influenza in 2009 -- killed over 280,000 people worldwide in its first year, and the virus continues to circulate today. . . .

Now you know. And ICE agents under Bovino's command refused to let an MD on scene render aid to Renee Good, as she died. It is all on video -- with the agent saying "we have our own medics. . . they will be here shortly". . . as the MD watched Renee die, from across the street, an ICE rifleman at the ready if he tried to cross the street. Damn them.

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