Antigenic and genetic characterization of influenza b viruses in 2012 from slums, dhaka, bangladesh.

ANTIGENIC AND GENETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF INFLUENZA B VIRUSES IN 2012 FROM SLUMS, DHAKA, BANGLADESH. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2015 Jul;46(4):611-5 Authors: Islam MA, Sultana N, Ahmed F, Rahman MM, Rahman SR Abstract Nasal and throat swab samples were collected from 400 subjects with influenza-like illness during June to September, 2012 from two heavily crowded slums, Rayerbazar and Hazaribagh, situated southeast of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Forty-one samples were positive for influenza B virus using quantitative RT-PCR, but no influenza A virus was detected. Antigenic characterization revealed that the influenza B viruses were of Yamagata and Victoria lineages, which was confirmed from genetic analysis of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes. Co-circulation of influenza B viruses of both Yamagata and Victoria lineages in the slums of Dhaka indicates that introduction of a tetravalent vaccine formulation that includes both of these influenza B virus lineages would be more effective in this population. PMID: 26867380 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health - Category: Tropical Medicine Tags: Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health Source Type: research