Influenza B Viruses in the Population of Province of Vojvodina during the 2012/2013 Season: Differentiation of B/Yamagata and B/Victoria Lineages by Real-time RT-PCR, Antigenic and Phylogenetic Characterization

• Published in: Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo Vol. 143; no. 7-8; pp. 429 - 437
• Main Authors: Radovanov, Jelena, Milošević, Vesna, Cvjetković, Ivana Hrnjaković, Ristić, Mioljub, Djilas, Milan, Nikolić, Nataša, Patić, Aleksandra, Kovačević, Gordana, Galović, Aleksandra Jovanović, Petrović, Tamaš, Mikić, Sandra Stefan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Serbia Serbian Medical Society 01-07-2015
• Subjects: acute respiratory infections; Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; epidemic; Genetic Variation; Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; Humans; influenza B; Influenza B virus - classification; Influenza B virus - isolation & purification; Influenza, Human - epidemiology; Influenza, Human - virology; Male; Phylogeny; Population Surveillance; real-time RT-PCR; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Seasons; Victoria; Yugoslavia - epidemiology; Yugoslavia; Victoria
• ISSN: 0370-8179; 2406-0895
• DOI: 10.2298/sarh1508429r

At present, two phylogenetically distinct influenza B virus lineages, B/Yamagata and B/ Victoria, co-circulate worldwide and can cause significant morbidity and mortality.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalences of two influenza B virus lineages in the population of Vojvodina and to identify their antigenic and phylogenetic properties.
A total of 369 and 334 nasopharyngeal, or nasal/throat swab samples, collected during the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 seasons, respectively, were tested using specific singleplex influenza A, influenza B, influenza B/Yamagata and influenza B/Victoria real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. Antigenic and genetic testing were done by hemagglutination inhibition assay and hemagglutinin and neuraminidase gene sequence analysis, respectively.
During the 2012/2013 season, influenza B viruses were present in 53.4% (101/189) of influenza positive samples.The B/Yamagata-like viruses (81.2%) significantly predominated over the B/Victoria-like viruses (18.8%). Comparing to B/Victoria-like positive patients, among B/Yamagata-like positive patients, children 5-14 years of age were significantly more represented (5.3% vs. 35.4%, respectively), as well as patients with mild form of illness (15.8% vs. 45.1%, respectively). The results of sequence analysis and antigenic testing showed that tested viruses were not closely related to B/Wisconsin/1/2010, the vaccine virus for 2012/2013. During the 2013/2014 season influenza B viruses were not detected.
The results of this study confirmed the health significance of influenza B viruses and indicated that B/Yamagata-like viruses were significantly more prevalent than B/Victoria lineage viruses, during the 2012/2013 season. They also showed a sub-optimal match between the tested viruses and the vaccine virus for season 2012/2013.