Comparative analyses of the specificities of anti-influenza hemagglutinin antibodies in human sera

Estimates of the variety of specificities of anti-influenza hemagglutinin antibodies in postinfection human sera taken between 1969 and 1971 and in 1978 were made by using Fab fragments of defined monoclonal antibodies in competitive virus-binding assays. The results obtained with the sera taken between 1969 and 1971 indicated that different sera contained antibodies with different ranges of specificities, whereas the 1978 sera mainly contained a broad range of antibodies. The results are discussed in relation to the mechanism of antigenic drift in influenza virus, the commonly observed antigenic heterogeneity of influenza virus isolates, and the efficacy of antiinfluenza vaccination.