BACKGROUND Influenza is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and neonates, but few countries offer annual influenza vaccination with the inactivated vaccine to all women who are, or intend to become, pregnant. OBJECTIVES To provide seroepidemiological information on influenza A and B antibodies in pregnant women and their offspring in Germany. STUDY DESIGN A...

We performed a retrospective (n = 121) and prospective (n = 305) verification of the Cepheid Xpert Flu assay to determine its performance characteristics. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 93% and 100%, respectively. Nasopharyngeal specimen sensitivities were 100% for seasonal influenza A/H1 virus and influenza A/H3 virus, 90% for influenza A/2009/H1N1 virus, and 95% for influenza B ...

Myrica rubra leaf ethanol extract was added to culture medium of Madino-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells inoculated with influenza virus, and the inhibition of influenza virus replication was measured. Myrica rubra leaf ethanol extract showed anti-influenza virus activity irrespective of the hemagglutinin antigen type in the influenza virus type A (H1N1), its subtype (H3N2), and type B.

Background and Aims: Influenza (flu) is a respiratory infection in mammals and birds. It is caused by an RNA virus in the family Orthomyxoviridae. The virus is divided into three main types. Influenza virus type A is found in a wide variety of bird and mammal species and can undergo major shifts in immunological properties. Hemagglutinin (HA) is an important influenza virus surface antigen that...

The contribution of influenza B to the seasonal influenza burden varies from year-to-year. Although 2 antigenically distinct influenza B virus lineages have co-circulated since 2001, trivalent influenza vaccines (TIVs) contain antigens from only one influenza B virus. B-mismatch or co-circulation of both B lineages results in increased morbidity and mortality attributable to the B lineage absen...

A cold-adapted (ca) influenza B reassortant virus vaccine that contained the six internal RNA segments from influenza B/Ann Arbor/1/66 ca virus and the neuraminidase and hemagglutinin genes from wild-type influenza B/Texas/1/84 virus was evaluated in children ranging in age from 8 months to 14 years. The children were vaccinated intranasally with doses ranging from 10(3.2) to 10(6.2) 50% tissue...

Two methods for detection of influenza virus in 451 clinical respiratory specimens were compared: (i) 24-well-plate centrifugation with Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells and staining with monoclonal antibody pools to influenza viruses A and B (Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga.) in an indirect immunofluorescence assay after incubation for 40 h, and (ii) conventional tissue cell cult...

The nucleoprotein (NP) of influenza B virus is 50 amino acids longer at the N-terminus than influenza A virus NP and lacks homology to the A virus protein over the first 69 residues. We have deleted the N-terminal 51 and 69 residues of the influenza B/Ann Arbor/1/66 virus NP and show that nuclear accumulation of the protein is unaffected. This indicates that the nuclear localization signal is n...

Arbidol is superior over remantadine as regards a wide antiviral spectrum, shows a pronounced chemotherapeutical effect against influenza A/B viruses in a cell culture and on an experimental influenzal pneumonia, induced by A/B viruses. Remantadine is efficient only against influenza A virus, but it is inefficient against influenza B virus. In addition, in the experiment, the resistivity of inf...

INTRODUCTION At present, two phylogenetically distinct influenza B virus lineages, B/Yamagata and B/ Victoria, co-circulate worldwide and can cause significant morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the prevalences of two influenza B virus lineages in the population of Vojvodina and to identify their antigenic and phylogenetic properties. METHODS A total o...