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Review
. 2021 Dec;19(12):741-742.
doi: 10.1038/s41579-021-00642-4.

Influenza lineage extinction during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Marios Koutsakos  1 , Adam K Wheatley  2 , Karen Laurie  3 , Stephen J Kent  2   4 , Steve Rockman  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Influenza lineage extinction during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Marios Koutsakos et al. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has seen a notable global reduction in influenza cases of both influenza A and B viruses. In particular, the B/Yamagata lineage has not been isolated from April 2020 to August 2021, suggesting that this influenza lineage may have become extinct, which may provide opportunities for improving availability and effectiveness of influenza vaccines.

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Conflict of interest statement

K.L. and S.R. are employees of Seqirus, an influenza vaccine manufacturer. The other authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Circulation of influenza viruses before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Global influenza virus sequences from the GISAID database with collection dates from September 2019 to 6 August 2021 illustrate a reduction of influenza virus detection and potential extinction of B/Yamagata during the COVID-19 pandemic (shaded).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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