Russia Braces for Possible New ARVI and Flu Wave as H3N2 Persists

Overview

• Academician Gennady Onishchenko told RIA Novosti a nationwide increase in acute respiratory infections and influenza is highly likely to begin soon, citing the recent return of students to classrooms.
• Officials expect incidence data for the third calendar week to be released Wednesday, which will clarify the timing and scale of any rise.
• Onishchenko said the A(H3N2) influenza strain remains in circulation and has not disappeared this season.
• Virologist Sergey Netesov told TASS that Russia’s first seasonal peak occurred from late December into early January and that reported cases are now declining, though another rise is possible in the next two weeks.
• Netesov noted H3N2 is dominant this season and has split along two evolutionary branches, with the current vaccine covering only one subvariant, which has affected effectiveness and leaves older adults and those with chronic conditions at higher risk.