Vaccine Effectiveness against Medically Attended Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza in Japan, 2011–2012 Season

The objective of this study was to estimate influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against medically attended, laboratory-confirmed influenza during the 2011–2012 season in Japan using a test-negative case-control study design. The effect of co-circulating non-influenza respiratory viruses (NIRVs) on VE estimates was also explored. Nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from outpatients with influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) in a community hospital in Nagasaki, Japan. Thirteen respiratory viruses (RVs), including influenza A and B, were identified from the samples using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction. The difference in VE point estimates was assessed using three different controls: ILI patients that tested negative for influenza, those that tested negative for all RVs, and those that tested positive for NIRVs. The adjusted VE against medically attended, laboratory-confirmed influenza using all influenza-negative controls was 5.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], −60.5 to 44.1). The adjusted VEs using RV-negative and NIRV-positive controls were −1.5% (95% CI, −74.7 to 41) and 50% (95% CI, −43.2 to 82.5), respectively. Influenza VE was limited in Japan during the 2011–2012 season. Although the evidence is not conclusive, co-circulating NIRVs may affect influenza VE estimates in test-negative case-control studies.