People who practiced frequent hand hygiene and were able to self-isolate during the height of the pandemic in the United States also helped contain the flu, as well as respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, the researchers said.
Before COVID-19, the peak incidence of the influenza A virus among children in the area surrounding Akron Children’s Hospital, where the research was conducted, occurred in February during both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 flu seasons.
In February 2019, 41% of nose and throat swab samples tested came back positive for the virus, while in February 2020, 24% came back positive, the data showed.
However, during the 2020-21 winter season, only two isolated cases of Influenza B virus and no cases of Influenza A virus were detected among Akron Children’s patients, a finding that is similar to what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that much of the United States experienced.
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