Artículo
Epidemiological and virological characteristics of influenza B: results of the Global Influenza B Study
Registro en:
10.1111/irv.12319
Autor
Caini, Saverio
Huang, Q Sue
Ciblak, Meral A
Kusznierz, Gabriela F.
Owen, Rhonda
Wangchuk, Sonam
Henriques, Cláudio M P
Njouom, Richard
Fasce, Rodrigo A
Yu, Hongjie
Feng, Luzhao
Zambon, Maria
Clara, Alexey W
Kosasih, Herman
Puzelli, Simona
Kadjo, Hervé A
Emukule, Gideon O
Heraud, Jean-Michel
Ang, Li Wei
Venter, Marietjie
Mironenko, Alla
Brammer, Lynnette
Mai, Le Thi Quynh
Schellevis, François
Plotkin, Stanley
Paget, John
Resumen
INTRODUCTION: Literature on influenza focuses on influenza A, despite influenza B having a large public health impact. The Global Influenza B Study aims to collect information on global epidemiology and burden of disease of influenza B since 2000.
METHODS: Twenty-six countries in the Southern (n = 5) and Northern (n = 7) hemispheres and intertropical belt (n = 14) provided virological and epidemiological data. We calculated the proportion of influenza cases due to type B and Victoria and Yamagata lineages in each country and season; tested the correlation between proportion of influenza B and maximum weekly influenza-like illness (ILI) rate during the same season; determined the frequency of vaccine mismatches; and described the age distribution of cases by virus type.
RESULTS: The database included 935 673 influenza cases (2000-2013). Overall median proportion of influenza B was 22·6%, with no statistically significant differences across seasons. During seasons where influenza B was dominant or co-circulated (>20% of total detections), Victoria and Yamagata lineages predominated during 64% and 36% of seasons, respectively, and a vaccine mismatch was observed in ≈25% of seasons. Proportion of influenza B was inversely correlated with maximum ILI rate in the same season in the Northern and (with borderline significance) Southern hemispheres. Patients infected with influenza B were usually younger (5-17 years) than patients infected with influenza A.
CONCLUSION: Influenza B is a common disease with some epidemiological differences from influenza A. This should be considered when optimizing control/prevention strategies in different regions and reducing the global burden of disease due to influenza.