New Flu Vaccination Coming in 2017

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently set new guidelines for the Southern Hemisphere’s 2017 influenza virus vaccine, making a big update regarding the H1N1 influenza virus.

Since 2009, when an especially virulent new strain of influenza A that had originated from swine emerged in California, the virus known as the A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus has been a mainstay in influenza vaccine components.

For the Southern Hemisphere’s coming 2017 flu season, the WHO recommendation is that trivalent vaccines contain an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus, an A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus, and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.

The WHO’s recent global surveillance has shown newly emerging H1N1 subgroups and thus, changing the vaccine components may be critical to preventing a pandemic virus.

Recommendations based on influenza surveillance cannot be confused with prediction. Influenza is a virus prone to change.

Global surveillance of circulating influenza viruses can detect changes which occur over years, such as the one from A/California to A/Michigan.

It is an imperfect system incapable of perfectly forecasting what the upcoming flu season will look like, due to the occurrence of sudden virus shifts.

Flu vaccines enable the body to develop antibodies that provide protection against infection from viruses in the vaccine. When vaccine components do not reflect the viruses that are circulating the world, they can be rendered ineffective.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Flu season in the United States can begin as early as October and can run until as late as May. Southern Hemisphere countries see their flu season occurring between April and September.

The vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere’s 2016-2017 upcoming flu season has retained the component inoculating for A/California, though next season’s vaccines may include the WHO-recommended change to A/Michigan.

WHO experts say that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent influenza infection caused by the flu.