Cross-reactivity of influenza A (H3N2) hemagglutination-inhibition antibodies induced by an inactivated influenza vaccine.
The antigenic drift of influenza A (H3N2) virus in 2003-2004 necessitated a change in the vaccine from the A/Panama to the A/Wyoming strain for the 2004-2005 season. Using hemagglutination inhibition, we therefore tested antibodies in sera of 39 individuals (mean age 64.6 years) at the end of the 2003-2004 season for cross-reactivity to vaccine strains and H3N2 antigens subject to antigenic drift. Antibodies against both A (H3N2) Panama and Wyoming developed in 5/13 (38.5%) unvaccinated individuals, whereas, 22/26 (84.6%) vaccinees developed antibodies to Panama and 21/26 (80.8%) to Wyoming. None of these individuals suffered an influenza episode that season. The results suggest that the elderly might develop protective levels of cross-reactive A (H3N2) Wyoming HI antibodies following vaccination with the Panama strain. Such strains, like the ones included in the 2003-2004 influenza vaccine, might be expected to provide a broad-spectrum antibody response that could be effective even in the face of single season antigenic drift.
Kojimahara
Noriko
N
Department of Hygiene and Public Health (II), Tokyo Women's Medical University, Japan. noriko@research.twmu.ac.jp
Maeda
Akiko
A
Kase
Tetsuo
T
Yamaguchi
Naohito
N
D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D003429:Cross Reactions; D005260:Female; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D006801:Humans; D053122:Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype / Q000276:immunology*; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated / Q000276:immunology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated