The latest influenza or flu season started in September 2014 and it will continue for the next few weeks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is already planning to prepare and improve the flu vaccine for the next season.
This flu season has been very severe and is considered as the deadliest in the last five years. The influenza virus has infected thousands of people across the U.S. and has also resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.
Even though vaccines are available for flu, they are not 100 percent effective. Experts suggest that influenza A (H3N2) virus was responsible for most of the flu cases in the U.S. this flu season. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that this year's flu vaccine in the U.S. is only 19 percent effective. The H3N2 virus causes flu and can cause several medical complications, which may result in death of an infected person.
In late February, the World Health Organization (WHO), recommended a choice of influenza strains for 2015-2016 flu season. Recently, the FDA has also agreed upon the WHO selection of influenza strains for the next season.
"It is recommended that trivalent vaccines for use in the 2015-2016 influenza season (northern hemisphere winter) contain the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Switzerland/9715293/2013 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus," per WHO.
These flu strains were recommended in flu vaccine for this year in the Southern Hemisphere.
Health experts were expecting a change in the next season's vaccine as the current flu season has been quite deadly. Health experts also suggest that any future development of flu vaccine will only be successful if they highly against that season's flu virus.
Elderly people over 65 years, children under the age of 5 years and people with weak immune system are at a high risk of getting a flu infection.
Although the flu season has nearly ended people can still get infected with the flu virus. The CDC recommends that people who experience flu like symptoms should still seek medical attention to avoid any complications.
The FDA will hope that next flu season is not as deadly as this year and the agency has the correct vaccine to deal with the next season's prevalent flu virus.
