Penza, 9 September 2017. PenzaNews. Almost 54,000 adults and over 15,000 children were vaccinated against influenza in the Penza region. This was reported by the press service of the regional Ministry of Health.

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According to the department, within the framework of the national calendar of preventive vaccinations it is planned to vaccinate 480,000 adults and 300,000 children altogether.

As it was noted by the chief out-of-staff specialist on infectious diseases of the Penza region Dzhamilya Kurmaeva, vaccination is the most effective preventive measure.

"Since the influenza virus is susceptible to continuous genetic and antigenic changes, the World Health Organization updates its recommendations regarding the vaccine composition twice a year for the northern and southern hemispheres respectively," she explained.

Dzhamilya Kurmaeva noted that the vaccine included the viruses that were forecasted to be the most wide spread in the upcoming season.

"For the epidemiological season 2017-2018 the World Health Organization forecasts prevalence of the following influenza strains: influenza B 'Brisbane', influenza A (H3N2) 'Hong Kong', and (H1N1) 'Michigan'," she specified adding that September and October were the most appropriate months for vaccination.