[Antigenic relationship between influenza A (H3N2) strains circulating in Argentina and vaccine strains]

Influenza epidemic season occurs usually from May to September in Argentina, so that the vaccine produced in the northern hemisphere to be administered during October-November may be out of phase for Argentina. In order to determine if the locally circulating strains in Argentina are antigenically close by related to the vaccine strains administered, they were compared with the influenza viruses isolated from May 1994 to December 1997. Clinical samples (9866) were nasopharyngeal aspirates from children hospitalized for acute lower respiratory tract infection and nasal-pharyngeal swabs from adults with influenza syndrome. Initial laboratory diagnosis was performed by immunofluorescence assay, followed by isolation in MDCK cells. Influenza A viruses (242) were detected and subtyped by hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) with WHO FLU Reagent Kit. A subset of the isolated viruses was antigenically analyzed by the WHO Collaborating Center at CDC, Atlanta, USA. Influenza A (H3N2) viruses characterized as circulating in Argentina during the last four years matched partially with the antigens present in the vaccines administered during 1994-97 period. These antigenic variants sometimes circulate late in the year (October 1994 and 1997) initiating the following influenza season and becoming prevalent. They were present 2 years later in the vaccine formula administered in the southern hemisphere. The HAI results of our isolates show that they are highly specific with the homologous antiserum and much less specific with antibodies against vaccine strains. The difference is 16 to 64 fold different. These results demonstrate the need to intensify influenza laboratory surveillance in order to obtain the best possible vaccine.