[Biological characteristics of epidemic and interepidemic strains of the influenza A (H3N2) virus].

Comparative studies of biological properties of influenza A (H3N2) viruses isolated in the epidemics of 1980 and 1983 and in the interepidemic period of 1982 showed a sharp reduction of the biological activity of the interepidemic viruses as compared with that of the epidemic ones. This was manifested by low isolation rate of virus in the interepidemic period, reduced hemagglutinating, interfering, and immunogenic activity of these viruses, poor reproduction in the lung tissue of white mice and the lack of virus-specific syntheses in splenocytes of infected Syrian hamsters. Unlike epidemic strains, the interepidemic strains had ts mutation in gene 6 coding for neuraminidase. There are reasons to associate the observed defect in gene 6 with frequent development of asymptomatic forms of influenza infection in the interepidemic period.