In the summer of 2023, I experienced one of the worst viral infections of my life. It started as a vague queasiness one evening, but exploded into a suite of debilitating symptoms overnight — fever, nausea, joint pain, sinus and eye infections and a productive, visceral cough.
My symptoms refused to subside even after weeks, and I ultimately had to pay a visit to the emergency room because it was indicative of more serious complications, such as pneumonia. Not to be dramatic, but there were moments where I genuinely wondered if I would ever recover from this. I did, eventually, despite the debilitation of the viral infection. The idea of acquired immunity feels intuitive. When the immune system encounters a pathogen it has previously faced, it activates memory T and B cells and produces antibodies to ward off infection. Some antiviral antibodies, like those created after measles infection or vaccination, are also maintained for life.
However, not even half a year later, I was plagued by a virus yet again, this time in Winnipeg during the winter. The same symptoms appeared, this time with a hefty bout of delirium. I was bedridden and felt betrayed by my own body. I lamented, “How did this happen again?”
It was only after the fact that I discovered that the timing of these infections coincided with an influenza A epidemic in Hong Kong (where I spent the summer) and a period of heightened influenza A incidence in Manitoba.
It is simply impossible to retroactively pinpoint the specific pathogen I contracted, but influenza A, also known as flu A or Alphainfluenzavirus influenzae, is notorious for evading immune responses. Each virus is covered with the protein’s hemagglutinin and neuraminidase on its surface. They are highly variable, with dozens of forms, combining to make over 130 different subtypes of influenza A, such as H1N1 and H3N2. Over time, these mutations prevent the virus from being recognized by antibodies and immune cells, making them less, or not effective at all. This is called antigenic drift, and Immunize Canada has compared this to a game of telephone, where the original message changes as it gets whispered around the group.
The flu, however, can become much more virulent when an antigenic shift occurs, which is when a virus changes so drastically that most people cannot fend it off. This can happen when a host, particularly pigs and birds, are infected with two subtypes of flu viruses at the same time, and they swap genetic information to create a new subtype. Instead of a normal game of telephone, imagine someone in the group whispers the original message in a completely different language.
This is the culprit behind pandemics that have swept across the globe. The infamous Spanish Flu of 1918, for example, is believed to have originated from birds before it spilled over to pigs, and then humans. Compounded by factors such as the lack of effective medical treatment and the mobilization of troops for the First World War, it is estimated that 50 to 100 million people died from the flu, far exceeding those who died from the war itself. Flu pandemics have emerged three more times since then, with the latest one taking place in 2009.
Fast forward to today, there has recently been a global surge of flu cases in much of the world, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, due to a new mutation called subclade K. For instance, New York has just reported a record-high number of flu hospitalizations in a single week, while the number of positive tests for the flu has increased sharply in Canada.
Although flu mortalities are on the decline and relatively uncommon in young adults, tragic cases are by no means unheard of. Now and then, I see headlines of healthy teenagers and people in their 20s dying from influenza.
In other words, personal experience, history and the news have led me to believe that the flu is not to be trifled with. Despite this, there exists people who “refuse” to be sick, and admittedly, I used to be one of them. In the past, I have arrived at university sick due to fear of missing out. It took me a while to realize that missing a handful of classes will not instantly ruin my GPA, nor will missing a meeting or volunteer shift cause my workplace to implode. If anything, I would like to believe most people would rather have a sick person stay home than show up and potentially spread diseases to others.
I am sure there are plenty who show up to class or events knowing full well that they are infectious. I can sympathize with those who mask up and socially distance, but I have also met people who egregiously dismiss viral infections as a benign cold that would not impact the well-being of university-aged adults.
More concerningly, there has been a rise in antivax sentiment due to misinformation on social media, and experts are saying vaccine hesitancy has led to the reemergence of diseases such as measles and is causing “needless death and suffering.” On a personal note, it seems like the world has learned nothing from COVID-19 and instead decided to barrel itself toward conspiracy and anti-intellectualism.
Given the viral pandemics in recent history and the ongoing upswing of flu infections, downplaying the flu is at best ignorant and at worst selfish and anti-science. My goal is not to fearmonger, but to highlight that being young and healthy does not make one invincible against diseases. Influenza may not be as deadly as it used to be, but it sure can make you feel like death warmed up.
