Detection of influenza B lineages from 2001 to 2013 in a tertiary hospital in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

Two antigenically distinct lineages of influenza B viruses, the Victoria-like and Yamagata-like strains, currently circulate among humans. Surveillance from United States of America and Europe over the last 10 years showed that the chance of a correct matching between vaccine and the circulating lineage had been 50%. We investigated influenza B infection in different patient groups (asymptomatic, general community, with comorbidities and hospitalised) attended at a tertiary hospital in the city of São Paulo, Brazil between 2001-2013. All samples were screened for influenza B virus by one-step...