PREDAC-FluB: predicting antigenic clusters of seasonal influenza B viruses with protein language model embedding based convolutional neural network

Influenza poses a significant global public health threat, with vaccination being the most effective and economical preventive measure. However, these punctuated antigenic changes, particularly in HA, result in escape from the immunity that was induced by prior infection or vaccination. Accurately predicting antigenic variation and understanding the antigenic dynamics of influenza viruses are cruc…