European Medicines Agency issues recommendations for 2012/2013 seasonal flu vaccine composition

The European Medicines Agency has issued the European Union (EU) recommendations for the influenza virus strains that should be included in flu vaccines this year.

Trivalent vaccines for the 2012/2013 season should contain these virus strains:

• an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
• an A/Victoria/361/2011 (H3N2)-like virus;
• a B/Wisconsin/1/2010-like virus.

Quadrivalent vaccines containing two influenza B viruses should also include a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.

The EU recommendation was issued by the Biologics Working Party's Ad-hoc Influenza Working Group on the basis of observations by the World Health Organization (WHO). The Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use adopted the recommendation on 15 March 2012.

Further information on the suitable candidate vaccine virus strains for the A/Victoria/361/2011 (H3N2)-like and B/Wisconsin/1/2010-like viruses will be published in April 2012.

The Agency recommends that marketing-authorisation holder submit applications to change the composition of centrally authorised seasonal flu vaccines by 11 June 2012.