2017 - 2018年度陕西省甲型H1N1流感病毒基因特征分析

目的 了解陕西省2017 - 2018年度甲型H1N1流感病毒的血凝素（HA）和神经氨酸酶（NA）基因变异情况。方法 选取2017 - 2018年度分离的6株甲型H1N1流感毒株进行全基因测序,利用生物信息学软件对分离株的HA和NA基因进行进化和变异分析,并与北半球疫苗株A/Michigan/45/2015进行对比;采用MEGA（5.05） 软件NJ法构建基因进化树,进行系统进化分析。结果 陕西省2017 - 2018年度甲型H1N1流感病毒阳性占比36.85%,流行高峰为2017年12月和2018年1月。6株甲型H1N1流感病毒测序得到的HA、NA序列与疫苗株比对,分别有12、11个氨基酸位点发生变异,其中HA有7个位点变异发生在抗原决定簇,受体结合位点、潜在糖基化位点比较稳定;NA序列没有发现耐药位点变异。结论 2017 - 2018年度陕西省甲型H1N1流感病毒为优势流行株。目前甲型H1N1流感病毒与WHO推荐的新疫苗株高度同源。     

长沙市甲型H1N1流感病毒神经氨酸酶基因序列分析

目的对长沙市甲型H1N1流感病毒A/changsha/78/2009的神经氨酸酶（neuraminidase,NA）基因进行测序分析,以期了解该病毒的来源及变异情况。方法利用国家流感中心（CNIC）和世界卫生组织（WHO）推荐的NA基因测序引物和CEQTM8000 Genetic Analysis System对2009年长沙市甲型H1N1流感患者阳性鼻咽拭子标本（A/changsha/78/2009）进行测序,测序结果提交至GenBank并利用Lasergene和Mega5软件对测序结果进行氨基酸比对和进化树分析。结果 A/changsha/78/2009 NA基因GenBank登录号为：GQ463958.1,与瑞典斯德哥尔摩甲型H1N1流感病毒分离株A/Stockholm/37/2009（H1N1）核苷酸同源性为100%;进化树分析显示A/changsha/78/2009 NA基因属于欧亚猪流感分支,包含A/changsha/78/2009在内的甲型H1N1流感病毒与A/swine/Spain/WVL6/1991（H1N1）亲缘关系近;A/chang-sha/78/2009与A/swine/Spain/WVL6/1991 NA基因均有7个潜在糖基化位点,A/changsha/78/2009 NA基因未发生H274Y位点突变。结论包含A/changsha/78/2009在内的甲型H1N1流感病毒NA基因可能来源于欧亚猪流感病毒,A/changsha/78/2009病毒对神经氨酸酶抑制剂类药物敏感。     

输入性甲型H1N1流感病毒神经氨酸酶(NA)基因变异分析

目的分析口岸输入性甲型H1N1流感病毒神经氨酸酶(NA)基因特征及变异趋势,及早发现变异株。方法选取广东口岸入境人员中检出的64份输入性甲型H1N1流感阳性样本,对其病毒NA基因进行核苷酸序列测定。与2009年甲型H1N1流感代表株A/California/04/2009/H1N1的NA基因序列进行对比,对甲型H1N1流感病毒的NA基因进化树、核苷酸序列同源性、氨基酸序列的变异及蛋白分子结构变化等进行分析。结果 NA基因进化树分为3个分支,其中2009年、2010年病毒聚集成簇位于分支1,2011年病毒则与部分2010年检出的病毒位于较远距离的分支2和3。检出的1例病毒NA氨基酸的抗原决定簇上发生Y155H的变异,部分病毒NA蛋白在42位点上新增了一个糖基化位点,在68、386位点出现了糖基化位点的缺失。氨基酸G41R、V106I、V241I、N248D、I365T、N369K等位点的变异较为显著,但未见耐奥司他韦病毒的出现。结论甲型H1N1流感病毒NA基因已发生一定程度的变异。随着突变的不断积累,病毒极可能会通过改变其抗原性和耐药性,从而引起新的流行。     

2017 - 2018年山东省甲型H1N1流感病毒耐药性分析

目的 调查山东省2017 - 2018流感监测年度甲型H1N1流感病毒对神经氨酸酶抑制剂（NAI）的耐药情况,分析其神经氨酸酶（NA）基因特征。方法 选取山东省2017 - 2018流感监测年度分离的20株甲型H1N1流感病毒进行生物学耐药实验,检测病毒对奥司他韦和扎那米韦的药物敏感性。提取病毒核酸后对NA基因进行测序,利用生物信息学软件分析NA基因上与耐药有关的氨基酸位点及其基因变异情况。结果 选取的20株甲型H1N1流感病毒全部对奥司他韦和扎那米韦敏感,对奥司他韦的IC50平均数为0.37 nM（0.15～0.89 nM）,对扎那米韦的IC50平均数为0.28 nM（0.14～0.78 nM）。NA基因测序结果也没有发现导致耐药的突变位点。结论 山东省的甲型H1N1流感病毒对NAI敏感,临床上可继续使用此类药物对流感患者进行治疗。     

甲型H1N1流感病毒神经氨酸酶基因进化分析

目的 探讨2009年山东省甲型H1N1流感病毒神经氨酸酶(neuraminidase,NA)基因的进化及NA基因编码蛋白抗原性、酶活性位点、精基化位点变异情况.方法 对山东省分离的20株甲型H1N1流感病毒的NA基因序列,用MEGA 4.0软件进行基因进化分析和氨基酸序列分析.结果 山东省2009年9月-2010年1月分离的20株甲型H1N1流感病毒NA基因的同源性均>99.2%,其中有4株的同源性为100%;与疫苗株[A-California-07-2009(H1N1)]、国内推荐株[A-Sichuan-SWL1-2009(H1N1)]的同源性分别为99.1%～99.5%和99.1%～99.6%;有13个神经氨酸酶基因的氨基酸发生了替换,为21、23、25、42、43、60、76、94、106、122、248、307和351位;未发生神经氨酸酶蛋白275位H-Y的替换.结论 山东省分离的甲型H1N1流感病毒NA基因高度保守,潜在抗原位点氨基酸分布相同;所有毒株的酶活性中心位点以及糖基化位点均高度保守;所有测定样本均未发生对达菲类药物的耐药性突变.     

2009年山东省四起甲型H1N1流行性感冒样病例暴发疫情病原学分析

目的 通过对2009年山东省济宁市4起流行性感冒(简称流感)样病例暴发疫情进行病原学分离鉴定,以及对血凝素基因(HA)和神经氨酸酶基因(NA)特性分析,研究其基因变异情况.方法 采集4起流感样病例暴发疫情中发热患者的鼻咽拭子标本34份,采用逆转录实时PCR(realtime RT-PCR)方法进行核酸检测,对阳性标本开展病毒分离,并对分离的甲型H1N1流感病毒的HA、NA基因序列进行测序.利用DNAStar软件对序列进行同源性分析,利用Mega 4.0软件进行基因进化分析和氨基酸进化分析.与WHO推荐的疫苗株及国内代表株进行对比.结果 在34份鼻咽拭子标本中,17份甲型H1N1流感病毒阳性,11份标本分离培养出了甲型H1N1流感病毒.将其中的7株进行HA基因和NA基因测序,HA、NA基因的同源性分别为98.4%～99.6%、99.2%～100.0%.与WHO推荐的疫苗株及国内代表株相比,有11个HA基因的氨基酸发生替换,分别为38、40、56、90、100、145、172、173、220、303及338位,其中38、40和303位位于抗原决定簇C区,172和173位位于抗原决定簇D区,56位位于抗原决定簇E区,同时40位为糖基化位点;有7个NA基因的氨基酸发生了替换,为80、106、241、248、351、369和386位,386位为糖基化位点;未发生神经氨酸酶蛋白275位H-Y的替换.结论 山东省甲型H1N1流感暴发流行株HA基因和NA基因均具有高度同源性,HA蛋白和NA蛋白均存在不同程度的氨基酸替换,部分流行株抗原决定簇和糖基化位点发生改变.     

2012-2018年青岛市A型(H1N1)pdm09流感病毒奥司他韦耐药株基因特征

目的 了解2012-2018年青岛市人群A型(H1N1)pdm09流感病毒奥司他韦耐药株基因特征。方法 收集2012年4月-2018年3月间青岛市A(H1N1)pdm09毒株397份,逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)扩增神经氨酸酶(Neuraminidase,NA)和血凝素(Hemagglutinin,HA)基因全长,序列测定后进行耐药位点和氨基酸变异及进化分析。结果 5株发生了H275Y突变,为奥司他韦耐药株;另有4株S247N突变,可能为奥司他韦耐药株。2012-2018年H275Y突变株检出率依次为2.8 %、2.0 %、0.0 %、1.1 %、0.0 %和0.7 %。NA和HA进化树显示,2012-2013年青岛H275Y突变株与美国耐药株A/Tennessee/03/2013更接近,2013-2014年青岛H275Y突变株与国内株和日本札幌耐药株更接近,这两个年度耐药株的毒株起源可能有所不同。突变株在酶活性位点、抗原决定簇、受体结合位点及其他功能位点(如HA位点D222、Q223和NA位点V241I、N369K和N386K)的转变与野生敏感株一致。结论 青岛市A型(H1N1)pdm09流感病毒奥司他韦耐药株明显增加且流行起源不同,但并未取得比野生株更强的流行能力。奥司他韦仍可作为流感预防和治疗的有效手段。     

赣州市2014年甲型H1N1流感病毒奥司他韦耐药株的筛查结果

目的分析2014年赣州市甲型H1N1流感病毒神经氨酸酶(NA)基因第275位氨基酸变异情况,掌握其耐药特性,为甲型H1N1流感防治提供参考。方法收集赣州市流感监测哨点医院采集的流感样病例鼻咽拭子标本,采用狗肾传代细胞(MDCK)对标本进行病毒分离,对分离的24株甲型H1N1流感病毒进行核酸提取,采用一步法逆转录-聚合酶链反应(One-step RT-PCR)扩增病毒NA基因部分片段,采用限制性内切酶片段长度多态性分析(RFLP)方法,分析扩增的部分NA基因第275位是否发生组氨酸(H)到酪氨酸(Y)的突变。结果 2014年赣州市24株甲型H1N1流感病毒NA基因第275位氨基酸均为组氨酸,未发生变异。结论 2014年24株毒株均对Oseltamivir敏感,One-step RT-PCR-RFLP方法筛查甲型H1N1流感病毒Oseltamivir耐药株简便可行。     

2017—2019年昆明市A（H1N1）pdm09亚型流感病毒血凝素基因特征分析

目的 分析2017—2019年昆明市A（H1N1）pdm09亚型流感病毒血凝素基因特征,为流感防控提供科学依据。方法 2017—2019年昆明市流感监测网络实验室用MDCK细胞培养A（H1N1）pdm09核酸阳性样本,经血凝和血凝抑制鉴定获得13株A（H1N1）pdm09流感毒株,选取8株提取RNA,一步法扩增得到全基因组,纯化、定量、建库后上机二代测序,使用MEGA X、PhyML 3.1等软件进行基因特征分析和系统进化树构建。结果 昆明市2017年毒株与A/Michigan/45/2015同属于6B.1分支;2018、2019年毒株与A/Brisbane/02/2018同属于6B.1A分支。与当年疫苗株相比,2017年毒株新增4个突变,其中A73S位于Cb区;2018年毒株新增5个突变,其中S74R、S164T位于Cb、Sa区,2019年毒株新增11个突变,其中N156K、L161I位于Sa区,T185I、D187A、Q189E位于Sb区。N156K可导致免疫逃逸,D187A、Q189E同时位于190螺旋。结论 昆明市A（H1N1）pdm09流感病毒的突变位点逐年增加,尤其是抗原决定簇和受体结合部位的突变频率明显加快,提示我们应该持续加强流感监测,及时发现免疫逃逸与高致病性突变。     

陕西省2012-2014年甲型H1N1流感的基因特性研究

目的了解陕西省2012-2014年甲型H1N1流感病毒的流行特征和血凝素(HA)、神经氨酸酶(NA)的基因特征。方法收集陕西省全省18家哨点医院流感样病例的监测资料和12家流感网络实验室病原学检测结果。用RT-PCR方法对部分甲型H1N1流感病毒进行HA、NA基因序列扩增,利用生物软件对序列特征及变化情况进行分析。结果陕西省2012-2014年度甲型H1N1为当年流行的优势株,占流感样病例的4.73%,占流感病毒阳性的43.44%,流行高峰时间为每年的11月~次年的2月。通过测序得到的各样本HA序列为1701bp,编码566个氨基酸,NA序列为1710bp,编码469个氨基酸,两年间分别有16、21个氨基酸发生变异,其中在142、180、202、220位点出现变异发生在HA抗原决定簇,HA的受体结合位点、潜在糖基化位点比较稳定,两年间没有发生变化,2012-2013年度毒株的NA序列增加了一个42(NQSQ)潜在的糖基化位点,NA序列没有发现耐药位点变异。结论 2012-2014年度陕西省甲型H1N1处于低流行状态,为流行的优势株,甲型H1N1的HA、NA氨基酸位点的变异属于抗原漂移,甲型H1N1流感与疫苗的匹配程度逐年降低。     

2014-2019年青岛市A型流感病毒进化分析

  目的   了解2014-2019年青岛市人群A型流感病毒(influenza A virus, IAV)流行病学和遗传特征。   方法   提取9 807份流感样病例咽拭子标本的病毒RNA, 采用多重实时反转录PCR方法鉴定分型; 采用一步法反转录PCR扩增IAV血凝素(hemagglutinin, HA)和神经氨酸酶(neuraminidase, NA)基因, 并进行序列测定和基因分析。   结果   2014-2019年青岛市流感病毒流行具有北半球典型季节性流感特征。夏季小量流行主要是H3N2。青岛市IAV中H1N1pdm09和H3N2分别占57.6%和42.4%, 并呈现交替流行。基因群分属于6B和3C。两者HA和NA基因进化都处在净化选择下, 但抗原进化可能具有不同的进化模式。与2009年毒株相比, 2019年青岛市H1N1pdm09和H3N2的HA分别已发生21个和30个氨基酸替换, 均主要发生在头部, 分别包含5个和18个抗原位点。H1N1pdm09检测到两株神经氨酸酶抑制剂抗性突变, 1株为H275Y突变, 另1株为S247N突变; H3N2中未发现NAI抗性突变。   结论   H1N1pdm09和H3N2是2014-2019年青岛市季节性IAV中的主要组分, 进化迅速。加强流感监测和研究十分必要, 流感疫苗株需要及时更新。     

Antigenic and genetic characterization of influenza viruses circulating in Bulgaria during the 2015/2016 season

Influenza virological surveillance is an essential tool for early detection of novel genetic variants of epidemiologic and clinical significance. The aim of this study was to determine the antigenic and molecular characteristics of influenza viruses circulating in Bulgaria during the 2015/2016 season. The season was characterized by dominant circulation of A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses, accounting for 66% of detected influenza viruses, followed by B/Victoria-lineage viruses (24%) and A(H3N2) viruses (10%). All sequenced influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2) and B/Victoria-lineage viruses belonged to the 6B.1, 3C.2a and 1A genetic groups, respectively. Amino acid analysis of 57 A(H1N1)pdm09 isolates revealed the presence of 16 changes in hemagglutinin (HA) compared to the vaccine virus, five of which occurred in four antigenic sites, together with 16 changes in neuraminidase (NA) and a number of substitutions in proteins MP, NP, NS and PB2. Despite the many amino acid substitutions, A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses remained antigenically closely related to A/California/7/2009 vaccine virus. Bulgarian A(H3N2) strains (subclade 3C.2a) showed changes at 11 HA positions four of which were located in antigenic sites A and B, together with 6 positions in NA, compared to the subclade 3C.3a vaccine virus. They contained unique HA1 substitutions N171K, S312R and HA2 substitutions I77V and G155E compared to Bulgarian 3C.2a viruses of the previous season. All 20 B/Victoria-lineage viruses sequenced harboured two substitutions in the antigenic 120-loop region of HA, and 5 changes in NA, compared to the B/Brisbane/60/2008 vaccine virus. The results of this study reaffirm the continuous genetic variability of circulating seasonal influenza viruses and the need for continued systematic antigenic and molecular surveillance.     

2014-2016年镇江地区甲型H1N1流感病毒分子进化特征研究

目的 了解镇江地区甲型H1N1流感病毒流行和变异特点。方法 收集2014-2016年镇江地区哨点医院流感样病例标本,进行核酸检测和病毒分离。在病毒流行期按月随机抽取13株甲型H1N1毒株,设计特异性的引物扩增血凝素（hemagglutinin,HA）、神经氨酸酶（neuraminidase,NA）基因,进行测序并分析其遗传进化特征。结果 13株分离株与疫苗株A/California/07/2009的HA基因核苷酸和氨基酸的同源性分别为97.3%~100.0%和96.6%~100.0%;NA基因核苷酸和氨基酸同源性分别为95.6%~97.5%和93.8%~96.6%。系统进化分析表明,13株病毒HA和NA基因分属于不同的进化谱系。分子特征表现为12株HA氨基酸序列均发生了抗原位点Sa区K173Q突变,1株同时发生了Sa区K181E突变;3株还发生了Ca1区V183I突变。受体结合位点和糖基化位点的氨基酸序列均未发生变异。结论 2014-2016年镇江地区甲型H1N1流感病毒与疫苗株相比,其HA、NA基因出现了一定程度的变异,但是抗原性并未发生改变,需进一步加强监测。     

2018-2019年宁夏甲型H1N1流感病毒血凝素基因组序列分析

目的 了解宁夏2018-2019流感监测年度流感病毒病原学检测情况,分析甲型H1N1流感病毒血凝素（HA）基因特征。方法 采用real time RT-PCR方法对流感监测哨点医院采集的流感样病例（ILI）标本进行核酸检测;对阳性标本进行毒株分离;提取甲型H1N1毒株的RNA,采用RT-PCR方法扩增HA片段并测序,利用生物信息软件对测序结果进行比对分析。结果 宁夏流感网络实验室检测咽拭子标本共5214份,核酸检测阳性数为760份,其中甲型H1N1阳性数为485份,占总阳性数的63.82%,分离出甲型H1N1毒株 161株。宁夏分离毒株与疫苗株A/Califaoria/07/2009不在同一进化分支,同源性为92.6%~96.3%;与疫苗株A/Michigan/45/2015(H1N1)为同一进化分支,同源性为96.6%~98.1%。与疫苗株A/Califaoria/07/2009比较,抗原位点、受体结合位点及其他位点均有变异,除毒株 A/Ningxia_Xixia/SWL1176/2019(H1N1)第222位氨基酸发生D222G变异外,其他甲型H1N1流感毒株均未发生D222G变异。所有毒株增加糖基化位点162NQT,个别毒株糖基化位点增加2~3个。结论 宁夏2018 -2019年度流感优势毒株为甲型H1N1毒株。序列分析表明甲型H1N1病毒发生了不同程度的变异,在抗原特异性、毒力和感染性上有可能已经发生变化,需要及时更换疫苗株成分。     

Increased hemagglutinin content in a reassortant 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus with chimeric neuraminidase containing donor A/Puerto Rico/8/34 virus transmembrane and stalk domains

The glycoproteins, heamagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) of influenza virus confer host protective immune responses during vaccination, which is the most effective approach for preventing influenza-associated morbidity and mortality. Since the functional balance between the HA and NA proteins may affect viral receptor binding and replication, a pandemic influenza A virus (H1N1 pdm09), strain A/Texas/05/2009, was optimized to elevate its HA antigen content by modifying the NA gene. In this study, we have constructed two 2:6 reassortant viruses between pdmH1N1 (A/Texas/05/2009) and A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8), in which the NA gene of A/Texas/05/2009 was modified to contain part of the NA gene from PR8. One chimeric NA virus has the PR8 transmembrane (TM) region (HNtm 2:6) and the other contains both the PR8 NA TM and stem regions (HNst 2:6). Using quantitative reverse phase-HPLC (RP-HPLC) analysis, we observed that the HNst2:6 virus contains a higher HA1 content than HN2:6 wild type. In addition, this mutant virus displays a higher HA1 to nucleoprotein (NP) ratio, based on gel electrophoresis densitometry analysis. Furthermore, the neuraminidase activity of purified HNst 2:6 virus is approximately 30% lower than that of HN2:6 virus, which is suggestive of a lower incorporation of NA into the viral envelope. Therefore, we propose that the reduction of NA packaging in the virion may lead to a compensatory increase of HA. Such an improvement in HA yield is possibly beneficial to H1N1 pdm09 vaccine production.     

Characterization of the neuraminidase of the H1N1/09 pandemic influenza virus

In this study, we compared properties of the neuraminidase (NA) of the H1N1/2009 pandemic virus (H1N1pdm) and N1 NAs of other influenza viruses. The H1N1pdm NA was more active than NAs of seasonal H1N1 viruses, hydrolyzed Neu5Acα2-3Gal linkage as efficiently as did avian viruses and cleaved Neu5Acα2-6Gal linkage as efficiently as classical swine viruses. To assess the functional balance between heterologous NAs and pandemic virus HA, we generated four recombinant viruses that shared seven genes of A/Hamburg/5/09 and contained the NA gene from representative avian, swine and human viruses. The viruses harboring NA from avian, Eurasian avian-like swine and seasonal human viruses eluted more slowly from red blood cells, were more sensitive to neutralization by human airway mucins, and replicated less efficiently in differentiated human tracheo-bronchial epithelial cultures as compared with the viruses containing the NA of H1N1pdm and the NA of the North American classical swine virus lineage. Our data suggest that functional properties of the NA of H1N1pdm could be closer to those of classical swine viruses than to those of avian, avian-like swine and seasonal human viruses.     

Seasonal influenza vaccines induced high levels of neutralizing cross-reactive antibody responses against different genetic group influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses

Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses have been circulating throughout the world since the 2009 pandemic. A/California/07/2009 (H1N1) virus was included in seasonal influenza vaccines for seven years altogether, providing a great opportunity to analyse vaccine-induced immunity in relation to the postpandemic evolution of the A(H1N1)pdm09 virus. Serum antibodies against various epidemic strains of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses were measured among health care workers (HCWs) by haemagglutination inhibition and microneutralization tests before and after 2010 and 2012 seasonal influenza vaccinations. We detected high responses of vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies to six distinct genetic groups. Our results indicate antigenic similarity between vaccine and circulating A(H1N1)pdm09 strains, and substantial vaccine-induced immunity against circulating epidemic viruses.     

Replication of live attenuated influenza vaccine viruses in human nasal epithelial cells is associated with H1N1 vaccine effectiveness

In the 2013–2014 and 2015–2016 influenza seasons, live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) generated reduced vaccine effectiveness (VE) against circulating H1N1 strains. This reduced VE coincided with the introduction of pandemic 2009 H1N1 (A/H1N1pdm09) vaccine virus reassortants, in place of pre-2009 seasonal H1N1 strains. Here, we explored one specific hypothesis for reduced VE; decreased replicative fitness of A/H1N1pdm09 strains in humans. Two A/H1N1pdm09 strains with reduced VE, A/California/07/2009 (A/CA09) and A/Bolivia/559/2013 (A/BOL13), were compared to pre-2009 seasonal H1N1 strains, A/New Caledonia/20/1999 (A/NC99) and A/South Dakota/6/2007 (A/SD07). Initial results showed that A/H1N1pdm09 strains had reduced multi-cycle infectivity in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells, compared to their pre-2009 counterparts. The A/BOL13 viral titre was found to be 2.65 log₁₀/mL lower when measured by multi-cycle 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID₅₀) assay compared to single-cycle fluorescent focus assay (FFA). By contrast, clinically effective A/NC99 titres differed by only 0.54 log₁₀/mL. In human alveolar (A549) cells, A/H1N1pdm09 strains replicated less than pre-2009 strains, with A/CA09 and A/BOL13 generating lower peak viral titres over 5 days. This phenotype was corroborated in physiologically relevant, primary human nasal epithelial cells (hNECs). Here, peak titres for pre-2009 strains A/NC99 and A/SD07 were 8.43 log₁₀ TCID₅₀/mL and 8.52 log₁₀ TCID₅₀/mL, respectively, versus 6.89 log₁₀ TCID₅₀/mL and 6.06 log₁₀ TCID₅₀/mL for A/H1N1pdm09 strains A/CA09 and A/BOL13. This confirmed a reduced ability of A/H1N1pdm09 strains to sustain replication in human respiratory cells. Using this information, H1N1 candidate A/Slovenia/2903/2015 (A/SLOV15) was characterised for replacement of A/BOL13 in the 2017/18 LAIV. A/SLOV15 produced comparable single and multi-cycle infectivity titres (Δ 0.16 log₁₀/mL) and reached a peak titre 1.23 log₁₀ TCID₅₀/mL higher than that of A/BOL13 in hNEC cultures. Taken together, these data suggest a reduction in sustained multi-cycle replication in human cells as a plausible root cause for reduced A/H1N1pdm09 VE.     

Molecular epidemiology and genetic characterization of influenza B virus in Lebanon during 2016–2018

BackgroundInfluenza B viruses are a major cause of serious acute respiratory infections in humans.MethodsNasopharyngeal swabs were collected from subjects with influenza-like illness during October 2016–June 2018 and screened for influenza A and B. The hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of the Lebanese influenza B specimens were sequenced and phylogenetically compared with the vaccine strains and specimens from the Eastern Mediterranean Region and Europe.ResultsInfluenza A and B viruses co-circulated between October and May and peaked between January and March. During the 2016–2017 season, A/H3N2 (33.4%) and B/Yamagata (29.7%) were the predominantly circulating viruses followed by B/Victoria and A/H1N1pdm09 viruses. During the 2017–2018 season, A/H3N2 (31.5%) and A/H1Npdm09 (29.3%) were most prevalent with co-circulation of B/Yamagata and to a lesser extent B/Victoria viruses. The B/Yamagata specimens belonged to clade-3 while the B/Victoria belonged to clade-1A. None of the analyzed specimens had a mutation known to confer resistance to NA inhibitors (NAIs).ConclusionMultiple subtypes of influenza co-circulate each year in Lebanon with a peak between January and March. The trivalent vaccine included a B/Victoria strain which mismatched the B/Yamagata lineage that predominated during the study period, highlighting the importance of quadrivalent vaccines.