Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2014 southern hemisphere influenza season

Overview

26 September 2013

It is recommended that trivalent vaccines for use in the 2014 influenza season (southern hemisphere winter) contain the following:

• an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus^a;
• an A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2)-like virus^b*;
• a B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like virus.

It is recommended that quadrivalent vaccines containing two influenza B viruses contain the above three viruses and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.

^a A/Christchurch/16/2010 is an A/California/7/2009-like virus.
^b A/Texas/50/2012 is an A(H3N2) virus that following adaptation to growth in eggs has maintained antigenic properties similar to the majority of recently circulating cell-propagated A(H3N2) viruses including A/Victoria/361/2011.