Egg adaptive mutation patterns of H3N2 human influenza A viruses

A recent study in this journal reported the cross-species transmission of a novel swine H3N2 influenza A virus (IAV) to humans and suggested a heavy threat from the H3N2 IAVs (1). Vaccination remains the primary option for the control of influenza, but the protective efficiency of seasonal vaccines against H3N2 IAVs are suboptimal. Recent human H3N2 IAVs have shown poor growth in MDCK cells and eggs due to their low receptor binding affinities. A high yield strain is required for the vaccine manufacture, however, mutations of vaccine seeds during egg adaptation has reported to reduce the vaccine effectiveness (2).

Source: Journal of Infection - November 12, 2019 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Feng Wen, Shujian Huang, Jinyue Guo Source Type: research