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Quadrivalent influenza vaccine effective against influenza B strains
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Hemagglutination-inhibition responses were superior with the quadrivalent influenza vaccine candidate to the added influenza B strains compared with trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine, according to recent study findings published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
“The burden of illness associated with influenza B in children is substantial,” researchers wrote. “Surveillance in the United States, for example, identified that during the 2010 to 2011 season, 38% of all influenza-associated pediatric deaths were attributed to influenza B, with half of these children being previously healthy.”
The randomized controlled trial included 3,094 children to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of an inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine candidate (QIV) vs. the TIV-Victoria (Vic) and TIV-Yamagata (Yam) in children aged 3 to 17 years. Children aged 6 to 35 months were assessed with QIV in an open-label study arm.
Researchers found that QIV was noninferior to the TIVs for the shared influenza A strains but superior for the influenza B strains Victoria and Yamagata. Adverse events were similar in all participants except for injection site pain (dose 1: 65.4% QIV; 54.6% TIV-Vic; 55.7% TIV-Yam).
“A live-attenuated QIV has received regulatory approval for use in persons 2 to 49 years of age in the United States as has an infected QIV, and WHO has made its first recommendations for constituents of QIVs for the Southern Hemisphere for the coming season,” researchers wrote. “The inactivated QIV assessed in this study can potentially provide protection against both B lineages, as well as to the two influenza A strains, and thus reduce influenza morbidity in children.”
Disclosure: See the study for a full list of disclosures.
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