A dangerous variant of the flu is becoming the dominant strain of the disease in Maryland and the rest of the nation, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
The H3N2 subclade K variation of the flu is beginning to hit areas of the nation hard this month.
“It is currently driving influenza cases in the U.S. as well,” said Andy Pekosz, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who studies respiratory illnesses. “It has mutations that may allow it to evade some, but not all, of the influenza vaccine-induced protection. The H1N1 and IBV viruses circulating look to be good matches to the vaccine.”
