The seasonal influenza vaccine is designed to protect against the
influenza viruses research indicates are most likely to spread and cause
illness among people during the upcoming flu season. Flu viruses are
constantly changing, so the vaccine is updated each year based on which
influenza viruses are making people sick, how those viruses are
spreading, and how well the previous season’s vaccine protects against
those viruses.
More than 100 national influenza centers in over
100 countries conduct year-round surveillance for influenza. This
involves receiving and testing thousands of influenza virus samples from
patients with suspected flu illness. The laboratories send
representative viruses to five World Health Organization (WHO)
Collaborating Centers for Reference and Research on Influenza, which are
located in the following places:
- Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC);
- London, United Kingdom (National Institute for Medical Research);
- Melbourne, Australia (Victoria Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory);
- Tokyo, Japan (National Institute for Infectious Diseases); and
- Beijing, China (National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention).
In
February of each year, WHO consults with experts from WHO Collaborating
Centers, Essential Regulatory Laboratories, and other partners to
review data generated by the worldwide network of influenza
laboratories. Afterward, WHO makes recommendations for the composition
of the seasonal influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere.
Reference: www.cdc.gov/flu
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