6533b85efe1ef96bd12bfdc2
RESEARCH PRODUCT
The molecular epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics of influenza B virus in two Italian regions during 2010-2015: The experience of Sicily and Liguria
Fabio TramutoCarmelo Massimo MaidaCecilia TrucchiFilippo AnsaldiFilippo AnsaldiClaudio CostantinoVitale FrancescoCristiano AlicinoAndrea Orsisubject
0301 basic medicineInfluenza ViruslineagesHemagglutinin Glycoproteins Influenza VirusLiguriaSettore MED/42 - Igiene Generale E Applicatamolecular epidemiologyCatalysilcsh:Chemistryviral evolutionCladeinfluenza BSicilylcsh:QH301-705.5PhylogenySpectroscopyPhylogenetic treeinfluenza B; lineages; viral evolution; surveillance; molecular epidemiology; influenza-like illness; Sicily; Liguria; ItalyComputer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern RecognitionGeneral MedicineBiological EvolutionComputer Science ApplicationsInfluenza B; Influenza-like illness; Italy; Liguria; Lineages; Molecular epidemiology; Sicily; Surveillance; Viral evolution; Biological Evolution; Genetic Variation; Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins Influenza Virus; Humans; Influenza B virus; Influenza Human; Italy; Molecular Epidemiology; Sicily; Phylogeny; Catalysis; Molecular Biology; Computer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition; Spectroscopy; Physical and Theoretical Chemistry; Organic Chemistry; Inorganic ChemistryInfluenza B; Influenza-like illness; Italy; Liguria; Lineages; Molecular epidemiology; Sicily; Surveillance; Viral evolution; Catalysis; Molecular Biology; Spectroscopy; Computer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition; Physical and Theoretical Chemistry; Organic Chemistry; Inorganic ChemistryItalyViral evolutionsurveillanceHumanHemagglutinin Glycoproteinsinfluenza-like illnessHemagglutinin (influenza)BiologyArticleCatalysisVirusInorganic Chemistry03 medical and health sciencesLineagePhylogeneticsInfluenza HumanHumansPhysical and Theoretical ChemistryMolecular BiologyInfluenza-like illneInfluenza-like illnessMolecular epidemiologyOrganic ChemistryGenetic VariationVirologyInfluenzaInfluenza B virus030104 developmental biologylcsh:Biology (General)lcsh:QD1-999biology.proteindescription
Molecular epidemiology of influenza B virus remained poorly studied in Italy, despite representing a major contributor to seasonal epidemics. This study aimed to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of the hemagglutinin gene sequences of 197 influenza B strains circulating in both Southern (Sicily) and Northern (Liguria) Italy between 2010 and 2015. Upper respiratory tract specimens of patients displaying symptoms of influenza-like illness were screened by real-time RT-PCR assay for the presence of influenza B virus. PCR-positive influenza B samples were further analyzed by sequencing. Neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees were constructed and the amino-acid alignments were analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis showed clusters in B/Victoria clade 1A/1B (n = 29, 14.7%), and B/Yamagata clades 2 (n = 112, 56.8%) and 3 (n = 56, 28.4%). Both influenza B lineages were found to co-circulate during the study period, although a lineage swap from B/Victoria to B/Yamagata occurred in Italy between January 2011 and January 2013. The most represented amino-acid substitutions were N116K in the 120-loop (83.9% of B/Yamagata clade 3 strains) and I146V in the 150-loop (89.6% of B/Victoria clade 1 strains). D197N in 190-helix was found in almost all viruses collected. Our findings provide further evidence to support the adoption of quadrivalent influenza vaccines in our country.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-04-13 |