Bloomberg reported the "disappearance" of the influenza B strain due to COVID-19.

Anti-Covid measures introduced around the world have led to the disappearance of the once popular Yamagata B flu strain, reportsBLOOMBERG . Scientists believe that other flu strains could be completely eradicated in the same way.

Self-isolation, wearing masks and other measures aimed at containing the spreadcovid-19 has led to the disappearance of one of the most common strains of the influenza virus, B/Yamagata, Bloomberg writes, citing a study by scientists at the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

As the agency notes, in recent decades, influenza epidemics have been caused by four main strains, including the Yamagata strain. Now, however, scientists are identifying only three strains, and Yamagata has not been observed since March 2020, Ian Barr, deputy DIRECTOR of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Influenza, told Bloomberg. "Restrictions on“COVID dealt it [the Yamagata strain] a killer blow that knocked it out of action,” he said.

According to Bloomberg, after the disappearance of the Yamagata strain, scientists began to believe that a similar approach could be used to eliminate another, more common, influenza B strain, Victoria. Unlike influenza A, which has a wide host range and carries the risk of causing pandemics, B strains are not transmitted by animals and are effectively controlled by vaccines. On average, these strains account for 23% of annual flu cases worldwide, including 1.4 million hospitalizations, the agency notes.

“Theoretically, eradication of the influenza B virus could eliminate this significant clinical and economic burden,” Florian Krammer, professor of vaccinology at the Icahn School of Medicine, wrote in an article for The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic to begin on March 11, 2020, and to end on May 5, 2023. This means the pandemic has lasted three years, one month, and 24 days. Recorded data show that 6.9 million people have died during this time, but the WHO believes the death toll could be as high as 20 million.

The pandemic's onset developed rapidly: countries began closing borders and suspending air travel , quarantines were imposed on city residents, and temporary hospitals were created to accommodate the sick due to a shortage of beds. In RUSSIA, non-working days were declared in March 2020, regions introduced restrictions of varying severity, and the country entered a period of "self-isolation."

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Since its discovery, the new CORONAVIRUS has mutated repeatedly, with scientists periodically reporting the discovery of a new strain. The latest variant is "pirola" (BA.2.86), first identified in France in August 2023. Rospotrebnadzor (Russia's Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) has deemed this variant more contagious than previous variants, but does not consider it a "second coming" of "omicron."