A new paper, a result of work led by Xiangjun Du, uses evolutionary information to try to forecast upcoming H3N2 seasons in advance using genetic sequences. After developing the model, we used it to predict that H3N2 in the pending 2016/2017 season will be at a higher incidence than has been seen recently and will involve substantial antigenic change in the hemagglutinin. Being able to predict this type of information could affect influenza countermeasures worldwide.
Congratulations Xiangjun!