WHO recommends 2010 seasonal influenza vaccine include pandemic strain

30 September 2009

The WHO expert committee on influenza has made the recommendation to include the new pandemic influenza strain in next year’s seasonal vaccine. The recommendation is that the 2010 southern hemisphere vaccine, due out in March, will contain:

• An A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus (Pandemic strain)
• An A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus
• A B/Brisbane/60/2008-lke strain

Because the pandemic strain has become the predominant strain circulating, it is viewed as the most likely to remain circulating next season.

It is not clear yet whether the new strain will be easily able to be incorporated into a single vaccine, or whether two injections (one with pandemic strain, and one with the other two seasonal strains) will be created. WHO will provide more advice on the detail of this aspect later in the year.

Back to Alerts