The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended in its recent report (dated 24 September 2015) that influenza vaccines for use in the 2016 southern hemisphere influenza season contain the following influenza vaccine viruses:

– an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus

– an A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus

– a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.

In addition, WHO has recommended that quadrivalent influenza vaccines containing two influenza B viruses, contain all of the above three viruses, and, a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus.

The influenza vaccine …