Anti-IAV H1N1 Monoclonal antibody, Clone 3R2009

Influenza epidemics cause substantial morbidity and mortality every year worldwide. Currently, two influenza A subtypes, A(H1N1) and A(H3N2), and type B viruses co-circulate in humans and infection with one type/subtype could provide cross-protection against the others. However, it remains unclear how such ecologic competition via cross-immunity and antigenic mutations that allow immune escape impact influenza epidemic dynamics at the population level. Here we develop a comprehensive model-inference system and apply it to study the evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics of the three influenza types/subtypes in Hong Kong, a city of global public health significance for influenza epidemic and pandemic control. Utilizing long-term influenza surveillance data since 1998, we are able to estimate the strength of cross-immunity between each virus-pairs, the timing and frequency of punctuated changes in population immunity in response to antigenic mutations in influenza viruses, and key epidemiological parameters over the last 20 years including the 2009 pandemic. We find evidence of cross-immunity in all types/subtypes, with strongest cross-immunity from A(H1N1) against A(H3N2). Our results also suggest that A(H3N2) may undergo antigenic mutations in both summers and winters and thus monitoring the virus in both seasons may be important for vaccine development. Overall, our study reveals intricate epidemiological interactions and underscores the importance of simultaneous monitoring of population immunity, incidence rates, and viral genetic and antigenic changes.

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of Influ A + B K-SeT (R), a rapid influenza antigen detection kit, in order to determine whether its implementation as a point-of-care test in the emergency room (ER) is justified. Methods: Nasopharyngeal swabs (n = 170) were collected in triplicates from patients with suspected influenza infection. One sample was tested by the Influ A + B K-SeT (R) kit and the other two samples were analyzed with Simplexa (TM) Flu A/B & RSV Direct Kit and Xpert (R) Flu, two RT-PCR-based assays routinely used in the ER. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the Influ A + B K-SeT (R) kit were 912%-94.5% and 982%, respectively, compared to the Xpert (R) Flu assay and the Simplexa (TM) Flu AM & RSV Direct Kit, respectively. Conclusions: Considering the satisfactory diagnostic performance of the Influ A + B K-SeT (R) test, its implementation as a point-of-care is expected to aid in decision-making, minimize time-to-result and reduce healthcare costs. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.