The H1N1 virus strain separated by the Maoming Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Guangdong province was recently included on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation list for the 2020-21 flu season in the northern hemisphere.

The virus strain, which was the only one on the Chinese mainland that was included on the recommendation list, will help global vaccine manufacturers prepare for the next flu season.

The recommendations of the WHO were based on the analysis of the surveillance data generated by the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System, according to the WHO’s official website.

The H1N1 strain isolated by the Maoming CDC has the advantages of good antigenic representativeness, high titers, and good activity. It can also cover all the variation characteristics of the H1N1 virus in the recent northern hemisphere population. Hence, it became the recommended strains for the trivalent and quadrivalent flu vaccines by WHO.

"We take the recommendation as WHO's affirmative response to our technologies of cell separation and chick embryo separation," said Xu Guifeng, director of the Maoming CDC.

As a State-level influenza monitoring lab, the Maoming CDC has taken the lead in the cultivation of influenza cells and chick embryos in the regions outside the well-developed Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province. It has also played an active role in influenza monitoring in the province, Xu noted.

A technician at the Maoming Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Guangdong province monitors the flu virus data. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]