Xie Ruopeng, Adam Dillon C, Edwards Kimberly M, Gurung Shreya, Wei Xiaoman, Cowling Benjamin J, Dhanasekaran Vijaykrishna
School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 7 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
Virus Evol. 2022 Jul 13;8(2):veac062. doi: 10.1093/ve/veac062. eCollection 2022.
China experienced a resurgence of seasonal influenza activity throughout 2021 despite intermittent control measures and prolonged international border closure. We show genomic evidence for multiple A(H3N2), A(H1N1), and B/Victoria transmission lineages circulating over 3 years, with the 2021 resurgence mainly driven by two B/Victoria clades. Phylodynamic analysis revealed unsampled ancestry prior to widespread outbreaks in December 2020, showing that influenza lineages can circulate cryptically under non-pharmaceutical interventions enacted against COVID-19. Novel haemagglutinin gene mutations and altered age profiles of infected individuals were observed, and Jiangxi province was identified as a major source for nationwide outbreaks. Following major holiday periods, fluctuations in the effective reproduction number were observed, underscoring the importance of influenza vaccination prior to holiday periods or travel. Extensive heterogeneity in seasonal influenza circulation patterns in China determined by historical strain circulation indicates that a better understanding of demographic patterns is needed for improving effective controls.
尽管采取了间歇性防控措施并长期关闭国际边境,2021年中国季节性流感活动仍出现反弹。我们展示了三年来多种A(H3N2)、A(H1N1)和B/维多利亚系传播谱系的基因组证据,2021年的反弹主要由两个B/维多利亚分支驱动。系统动力学分析揭示了2020年12月广泛暴发之前未被采样的祖先谱系,表明流感谱系在针对新冠疫情实施的非药物干预措施下可能隐匿传播。观察到了新的血凝素基因突变以及受感染个体年龄分布的变化,江西省被确定为全国疫情暴发的主要源头。在主要节假日之后,观察到有效繁殖数的波动,这凸显了在节假日或出行前接种流感疫苗的重要性。由历史毒株传播情况所决定的中国季节性流感流行模式存在广泛异质性,这表明需要更好地了解人口结构模式以改进有效防控措施。