Identification of a new subtype of influenza virus A(H1N2)

A meeting of influenza experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva this week has considered the recent isolation of a new subtype of the influenza A virus, A(H1N2) (1). The meeting was held to review the global influenza situation and decide the composition for the influenza vaccine for the northern hemisphere for winter 2002/03, and was based on information from the WHO global influenza surveillance programme and the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) surveillance of influenza in England and Wales.