The influenza A(H3N2) virus, which circulates in Russia, is not geographically linked to Hong Kong, said Cathy Yun, a representative of the Department of Health of the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. According to her, the names of the strains reflect only the place of their first isolation and the year, but do not indicate the origin of the virus.
Yun recalled that subtype A(H3N2) was first identified in Hong Kong in 1968 and was designated A/Hong Kong/1968, but since then it has become one of the main seasonal influenza viruses that have been circulating around the world for decades. A similar example, she noted, is the so-called "Spanish flu" of 1918-1920, which also did not originate in the country that gave it its name.
The department's representative stressed that A(H3N2) is neither new nor unique to Hong Kong and is constantly evolving like other influenza viruses. That is why the World Health Organization annually updates the composition of seasonal vaccines, focusing on the most relevant circulating strains, rather than on their historical names.
