Forty five percent of the Israeli population were infected with the influenza B Victoria virus during the winter season 2015-16.

Sivan Sharabi,Daniel Cohen,Musa Hindiyeh,Ravit Bassal,Aharona Glatman-Freedman,Yaron Drori,Nehemya Friedman,Hadar Alter,Ella Mendelson,Michal Mandelboim,Tamy Shohat

doi:10.18632/oncotarget.23601

Sivan Sharabi, Daniel Cohen + Show 9 more

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https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.23601

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Abstract

While infection with influenza A viruses has been extensively investigated, infections with influenza B viruses which are commonly categorized into the highly homologous Victoria and Yamagata lineages, are less studied, despite their considerable virulence. Here we used RT-PCR assays, hemagglutination inhibition assays and antibody titers to determine the levels of influenza B infection. We report of high influenza B Victoria virus prevalence in the 2015–16 winter season in Israel, affecting approximately half of the Israeli population. We further show that the Victoria B virus infected individuals of all ages and that it was present in the country throughout the entire winter season. The vaccine however included the inappropriate Yamagata virus. We propose that a quadrivalent vaccine, that includes both Yamagata and Victoria lineages, should be considered for future influenza vaccination.

Highlights

Influenza viruses, which are members of the Orthomyxoviridae family, are categorized into three genera - A, B, and C [1, 2]
The percentages of patient samples infected with influenza B viruses varied over the years and peaks of influenza B infection were observed in the years following those in which influenza B viruses were hardly present (Figure 1)
In 2012–13 and in 2014–15, influenza B infections were detected in only 5% of the patient samples, while in the last winter season (2015–16), 50% of the influenza-infected individuals were due to influenza B (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Influenza viruses, which are members of the Orthomyxoviridae family, are categorized into three genera - A, B, and C [1, 2]. Infections with influenza viruses are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide [3,4,5]. Approximately 3–5 million individuals suffer from severe illness each year with an estimated 250,000– 500,000 related deaths [6]. The influenza virus undergoes rapid and significant changes that prevent the generation of long-lasting protective immunity [7, 8]. In attempt to prevent infection, the influenza vaccine composition, is re-evaluated every year. The trivalent vaccine usually contains two influenza A and one influenza B virus

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