Post Reply - A new pandemic

seasonal flu viruses

   https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2024/11/preprint-enhanced-encephalitic-tropism.html or https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2024/11/preprint-enhanced-encephalitic-tropism.html ;Although seasonal flu can occasionally cause neurological symptoms (see 2018's Neuroinfluenza: A Review Of Recently Published Studies) it is relatively rare phenomenon, and usually only results in mild, and transient symptoms. 
The exact mechanisms behind these neurological manifestations are largely unknown, as seasonal flu viruses are generally regarded as being non-neurotropic.

Some researchers have posited that neurological symptoms may be due to neuroinflammation induced by the host's immune response. Regardless of the mechanism, we've seen seen evidence that some influenza viruses - particularly novel flu types - can be more neuroaffective than others.
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 Over the past few years we've seen numerous reports of mammals infected with the 2.3.4.4b subclade of H5Nx experiencing severe, and often fatal, neurological manifestations.  Often, cats and other small mammals were initially suspected being rabid, only to test positive for H5Nx.
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While there are still more questions than answers, over the years we've looked at numerous studies (some more compelling than others) linking severe and/or repeated viral infections (including flu) to a variety of neurological diagnoses later in life. 

In 2011 a study by Boise State biology professor Troy Rohn  appeared in PLOS ONE , which unexpectedly found immunohistochemical evidence of prior influenza A infection in the post-mortem brain tissues of 12 Parkinson’s patients they tested.
Immunolocalization of Influenza A Virus and Markers of Inflammation in the Human Parkinson's Disease Brain
Troy T. Rohn*, Lindsey W. Catlin
The following year, in Revisiting The Influenza-Parkinson’s Link, we looked at another study, conducted by the University of British Columbia, that found a linkage between a past history of severe bouts of influenza and the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease later in life.
According to their research, a severe bout of influenza doubled a person’s chances of developing the neurological condition (Severe flu increases risk of Parkinson's: UBC research).
None of this is conclusive, but it does raise serious questions. 
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Whenever we talk about long-term sequelae from influenza, the mysterious decade-long epidemic of Encephalitis Lethargica (EL) that followed the 1918 pandemic always comes to mind.

It is estimated that between 1 and 5 million people were affected with severe Parkinson's-like symptoms.  While some scientists have suggested they may have been linked to the pandemic virus, others have pointed to a post-streptococcal immune response, or believe it was an aberrant autoimmune response, and dismiss the link with the 1918 pandemic.

The cause remains a mystery.
Throughout history, there have been reports of similar outbreaks, including febris comatosa which sparked a severe epidemic in London between 1673 and 1675, and in the wake of the 1889–1890 influenza pandemic, a severe wave of somnolent illnesses (nicknamed the "Nona") appeared.
And more recently, we've seen evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infection can produce persistent neurological manifestations (see CMAJ: Even Mild COVID-19 May Have Long-term Brain Impacts).
While the mild presentation of H5N1 in the United States thus far is reassuring, these viruses continue to mutate and evolve, and what we say about them today may not hold true tomorrow. 
Because with influenza viruses, the only constant is change. 
DJ, Maybe the smaller the host (so also a child) the relative higher the viral load may be-resulting in more severe disease ? And disease may bring long term damage more often. 

https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/mysterious-influenza-outbreak-at-army-camp-in-sri-lanka-causes-25-infections-and-500-in-quarantine or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/mysterious-influenza-outbreak-at-army-camp-in-sri-lanka-causes-25-infections-and-500-in-quarantine 

DJ-In this story "flu-like-symptoms"...but testing must have been done and was not able to find a (flu)virus...Was it something else (in food/water ???)