Molecular and phylogenetic analyses of influenza B viruses isolated from pediatric inpatients in South Korea during the 2011-2012 winter season

• Published in: Journal of general virology Vol. 98; no. 12; pp. 2950 - 2954
• Main Authors: Nam, Jeong-Hyun, Song, Eun-Jung, Song, Daesub, Españo, Erica, Shim, Sang-Mu, Jeong, Seo-Hee, Webster, Robert G, Kim, Woo-Joo, Kim, Jeong-Ki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.12.2017
• Subjects: Amino Acid Substitution; Antigens, Viral - genetics; Child; Gene Expression; Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus - genetics; Humans; Influenza B virus - classification; Influenza B virus - genetics; Influenza B virus - immunology; Influenza, Human - epidemiology; Influenza, Human - transmission; Influenza, Human - virology; Inpatients; Neuraminidase - genetics; Phylogeny; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Seasons; phylogenetic analysis; molecular characterization; Influenza B virus
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000983

Influenza B virus remains a major cause of respiratory diseases worldwide. Because of limited epidemiological and genetic data, the local and global transmission patterns of influenza B virus are not fully understood. Here we report the molecular and phylogenetic characterization of 163 influenza B virus isolates from pediatric inpatients with influenza-like illness in the winter of 2011-2012 in South Korea. Analysis of haemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes of the influenza B isolates revealed that both B/Victoria (62 %) and B/Yamagata lineages (38 %) co-circulated during that influenza season, and a considerable number of the isolates carried several amino acid substitutions in the four major antigenic epitopes of their haemagglutinin protein.