Implications of the apparent extinction of B/Yamagata-lineage human influenza viruses

Ian G Barr; Kanta Subbarao

doi:10.1038/s41541-024-01010-y

Implications of the apparent extinction of B/Yamagata-lineage human influenza viruses

NPJ Vaccines. 2024 Nov 16;9(1):219. doi: 10.1038/s41541-024-01010-y.

Authors

Ian G Barr^{1

2}, Kanta Subbarao^{3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, VIDRL, Doherty Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
² Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Doherty Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
³ WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, VIDRL, Doherty Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. kanta.subbarao@unimelb.edu.au.
⁴ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Doherty Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. kanta.subbarao@unimelb.edu.au.
⁵ Department of Infectious Diseases, Université Laval, 2705 boulevard Laurier, Pavillon CHUL RC-709, Québec City, QC, Canada. kanta.subbarao@unimelb.edu.au.

Abstract

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the number of influenza viruses circulating globally fell to historically low numbers. Although influenza A and B/Victoria lineage viruses returned to normal patterns by 2022, B/Yamagata-lineage viruses have not been identified since 2020. The implications of the apparent extinction of this lineage of viruses on vaccine composition, and the risk of their re-introduction into the human population are discussed.