Journal Article

Global Circulation of Seasonal Influenza A (H3N2) Viruses

de Jong, Jan C, Jones, Terry C, Barr, Ian G, Fouchier, Ron A.M, Kelso, Anne, Lapedes, Alan S, Hay, Alan J, Odagiri, Takato, Osterhaus, Albert D.M.E, Shaw, Michael W, Lin, Yi P, Obuchi, Masatsugu, Cox, Nancy J, Tashiro, Masato, Skepner, Eugene, Garten, Rebecca J, Kageyama, Tsutomu, Smith, Derek J, Gregory, Vicky, Russell, Colin A, Gust, Ian D, Rimmelzwaan, Guus F, Komadina, Naomi, Hurt, Aeron C, Stohr, Klaus, Hampson, Alan W, Mosterin, Ana, Klimov, Alexander I

2008

Overview

Antigenic and genetic analysis of the hemagglutinin of ~13,000 human influenza A (H3N2) viruses from six continents during 2002-2007 revealed that there was continuous circulation in east and Southeast Asia (E-SE Asia) via a region-wide network of temporally overlapping epidemics and that epidemics in the temperate regions were seeded from this network each year. Seed strains generally first reached Oceania, North America, and Europe, and later South America. This evidence suggests that once A (H3N2) viruses leave E-SE Asia, they are unlikely to contribute to long-term viral evolution. If the trends observed during this period are an accurate representation of overall patterns of spread, then the antigenic characteristics of A (H3N2) viruses outside E-SE Asia may be forecast each year based on surveillance within E-SE Asia, with consequent improvements to vaccine strain selection.

• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science,The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subject: Antigenic Variation / Asia - epidemiology / Asia, Southeastern - epidemiology / Biological and medical sciences / Disease Outbreaks / Epidemics / Europe / Europe - epidemiology / Evolution / Evolution, Molecular / Evolutionary biology / Evolutionary genetics / Forecasting / genetic techniques and protocols / H3N2 subtype influenza A virus / Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus - genetics / Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus - immunology / hemagglutinins / human influenza / Humans / Infectious diseases / Influenza / Influenza A virus / Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype - classification / Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype - genetics / Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype - immunology / Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype - isolation & purification / Influenza Vaccines / Influenza, Human - epidemiology / Influenza, Human - virology / Medical sciences / Microbiology / monitoring / North America / North America - epidemiology / Oceania / Pacific Ocean Islands / Phylogenetics / Phylogeny / Population Surveillance / Seasons / Seeding / South America / South America - epidemiology / South East Asia / Temperate regions / temperate zones / Tropical regions / Vaccination / vaccines / Viral diseases / Viruses