Influenza C in Lancaster, UK, in the winter of 2014–2015

Atkinson, Kate V.; Bishop, Lisa A.; Rhodes, Glenn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0488-3843; Salez, Nicolas; McEwan, Neil R.; Hegarty, Matthew J.; Robey, Julie; Harding, Nicola; Wetherell, Simon; Lauder, Robert M.; Pickup, Roger W.; Wilkinson, Mark; Gatherer, Derek. 2017 Influenza C in Lancaster, UK, in the winter of 2014–2015. Scientific Reports, 7, 46578. 10, pp. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46578

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46578

Abstract/Summary

Influenza C is not included in the annual seasonal influenza vaccine, and has historically been regarded as a minor respiratory pathogen. However, recent work has highlighted its potential role as a cause of pneumonia in infants. We performed nasopharyngeal or nasal swabbing and/or serum sampling (n = 148) in Lancaster, UK, over the winter of 2014–2015. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we obtain seropositivity of 77%. By contrast, only 2 individuals, both asymptomatic adults, were influenza C-positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Deep sequencing of nasopharyngeal samples produced partial sequences for 4 genome segments in one of these patients. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the influenza C genome from this individual is evolutionarily distant to those sampled in recent years and represents a novel genome constellation, indicating that it may be a product of a decades-old reassortment event. Although we find no evidence that influenza C was a significant respiratory pathogen during the winter of 2014–2015 in Lancaster, we confirm previous observations of seropositivity in the majority of the population.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46578
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	UKCEH Fellows Parr
ISSN:	2045-2322
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	influenza virus, viral evolution
NORA Subject Terms:	Health Biology and Microbiology
Date made live:	21 Jul 2017 11:01 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/517355

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46578

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

UKCEH Fellows
Parr

ISSN:

2045-2322

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

influenza virus, viral evolution