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World J Clin Pediatr. Nov 19, 2020; 9(3): 44-52
Published online Nov 19, 2020. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v9.i3.44
Influenza B infections in children: A review
Yellanthoor Ramesh Bhat
Yellanthoor Ramesh Bhat, Department of Pediatrics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
Author contributions: Bhat YR conceptualized the review topic and wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author(s) declare no conflicts of interest related to this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yellanthoor Ramesh Bhat, MBBS, MD, Doctor, Full Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Madhava Nagar, Manipal, Udupi District, Karnataka 576104, India.docrameshbhat@yahoo.co.in
Received: June 22, 2020
Peer-review started: June 22, 2020
First decision: August 9, 2020
Revised: August 31, 2020
Accepted: September 18, 2020
Article in press: September 18, 2020
Published online: November 19, 2020
Abstract

Influenza B (IFB) virus belongs to the Orthomyxoviridae family and has two antigenically and genetically distinct lineages; B/Victoria/2/87-like (Victoria lineage) and B/Yamagata/16/88-like (Yamagata lineage). The illness caused by IFB differs from that caused by influenza A. Outbreaks of IFB occur worldwide and young children exposed to IFB are likely to have a higher disease severity compared with adults. IFB mostly causes mild to moderate respiratory illness in healthy children. However, the involvement of other systems, a severe disease especially in children with chronic medical conditions and immunosuppression, and rarely mortality, has been reported. Treatment with oseltamivir or zanamivir decreases the severity of illness and hospitalization. Due to the enormous health and economic impact of IFB, these strains are included in vaccines. IFB illness is less studied in children although its impact is substantial. In this review, the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, treatment, prognosis, and prevention of IFB illness in children are discussed.

Keywords: Children, Influenza B, Hospitalization, Oseltamivir, Respiratory infections, Severity

Core Tip: Influenza B (IFB) outbreaks occur worldwide and young children exposed to IFB tend to have a higher disease severity compared with adults. The IFB virus belongs to the Orthomyxoviridae family and has two distinct lineages; Victoria lineage and Yamagata lineage. The illness caused by IFB is less severe than that caused by influenza A. IFB illness is less studied in children although its impact is substantial. IFB mostly causes mild to moderate respiratory illness in healthy children. However, the involvement of other systems, a severe disease especially in children with chronic medical conditions and immunosuppression, and rarely mortality, has been reported. Early treatment with antiviral agents decreases the severity of illness and hospitalization. Due to the enormous health and economic impact of IFB, these strains are included in vaccines. In this review, the disease burden, clinical manifestations, treatment, prognosis, and prevention of IFB illness in children are discussed.