Epidemiologic, clinical, and genetic characteristics of influenza C virus infections among outpatients and inpatients in Sendai, Japan from 2006 to 2020.

Background: Influenza C virus is a pathogen that causes acute respiratory illness in children. The clinical information about this virus is limited because of the small number of isolated viruses compared to influenza A or B viruses.

Methods: A total of 60 influenza C viruses were isolated by clinical tests using cell culture methods conducted in one hospital and one clinic during the 15 years from 2006 to 2020. These 60 cases were retrospectively analyzed by comparing outpatients and inpatients. Moreover, isolated viruses were analyzed for genomic changes during the study period.

Results: All were younger than 7 years, and 73% of inpatients (19 out of 26) were under 2 years of age. A significant difference was found in the frequency of pneumonia, accounting for 45% and 4% of inpatients and outpatients, respectively. Most of the viruses isolated from 2006 to 2012 belonged to the S/A sublineage of the C/Sao Paulo lineage, but three sublineage viruses, including the S/A sublineage with K190N mutation, S/V sublineage, and C/Kanagawa lineage, have cocirculated since 2014. Moreover, S/A sublineage viruses were undergoing reassortment since 2014, suggesting significant changes in the virus, both antigenically and genetically. Of the 10 strains from patients with pneumonia, 7 were in the S/A sublineage, which had circulated from 2006 to 2012.

Conclusion: Infants under 2 years of age were more likely to be hospitalized with pneumonia. The genomic changes that occurred in 2014 were suggested to affect the ability of the virus to spread.