Potential impact of B lineage mismatch on trivalent influenza vaccine effectiveness during the 2015–2016 influenza season among nursery school children in Suzhou, China

ABSTRACT

Background: We actively followed a cohort of nursery school children in Suzhou, China to assess the impact of vaccination with trivalent influenza vaccine on the prevention of influenza like illness (ILI).

Methods: We enrolled children aged 36 to 72 months from 13 nursery schools in Suzhou starting two weeks after vaccination during October 2015-February 2016. Every school-day, teachers reported the names of students with ILI to study clinicians, who collected the student's nasopharyngeal swab or throat swab, either at a study clinic or the child's home. Swabs were sent to the Suzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention's laboratory for influenza testing by RT-PCR.

Results: In total, 3278 children were enrolled; 83 (3%) were lost to follow-up, while 3195 (vaccinated: 1492, unvaccinated: 1703) were followed for 24 weeks. During the study, 40 samples tested positive; 17 in the vaccinated (B Victoria: 12; A(H1N1)pdm09: 5) and 23 in the unvaccinated group (B Victoria: 10; B Yamagata: 2; A(H1N1)pdm09: 11). The VE estimates were: 16% overall (95%CI:-58%,56%), 48% (−47%,84%) for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, 43% (−650%,98%) for influenza B Yamagata, and −37% (−227%,42%) for influenza B Victoria. Data were analyzed by vaccinated and unvaccinated groups based on enrollees' vaccination records.

Conclusions: The VE for A(H1N1)pdm09 was moderate but not significant. Mismatching of B lineage may have compromised trivalent influenza vaccine effectiveness during the 2015–2016 influenza season among nursery school children in Suzhou, China. Additional larger studies are warranted to inform policy related to quadrivalent influenza vaccine licensure in China in the future.

KEYWORDS:

• nursery school children
• China
• influenza
• vaccine effectiveness
• community cohort surveillance

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Mark Thompson for his review of this paper.