Protection against influenza for life? A new type of vaccine

Scientists have developed a new type of flu vaccine that can provide lifelong protection. The formulation contains a combination of genes from four major influenza strains and has shown very promising results in animal studies.

During tests on mice, the new vaccine protected the rodents from ith different influenza viruses. The mice received very high doses of the virus and did not get sick. Moreover, they showed no signs of disease even when given lethal doses of the virus. 100 percent of vaccinated mice survived infection with seven of the nine viruses in influenza given in lethal doses.

In the same study, rodents that that were given traditional flu vaccines became ill and died when exposed to the same doses of flu virus as mice vaccinated with the new formulation.

Because the study was conducted on mice, it is too early to say whether the vaccine would work successfully in humans. However, scientists are hopeful that their work may one day lead to a “universal” influenza vaccine, which ra will provide long-term protection against this virus.

– Our ultimate goal is to be able to vaccinate once and provide lifelong protection – admitted study leader Eric Weaver of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. – Current flu vaccine programs and technologies reduce flu infections and hospitalizations, but there is no doubt that there is a need for more effective vaccine technologies – added.

Influenza occurs in several different types or “types”, of which hich all behave differently. However, this has not always been the case. Each strain of influenza evolved from a more primitive ancestor. It should also be added that the virus mutates very quickly and it is difficult to develop a flu vaccine with long-term protection. Currently, scientists are developing a new seasonal flu vaccine each year. Researchers predict kt re strains of influenza will circulate in the fall and winter among the d populations.

Scientists have been testing different strategies in the production of vaccines. Most of them stimulate the body’s immune response to a protein called hemagglutinin, which re found on the surface of the virus in influenza and other viral. This protein causes the attachment of the virus particle to the surface of the infected cell rki.

Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln took a different tack. Their vaccine contains the genes of the „ancestor of” Influenza from four major The type in the influenza virus: H1, H2, H3 and H5. These are genes representing the co lne sequences of wsp l shared by many flu viruses in influenza.

– The ideal flu vaccine would be inexpensive, provide long-term immunity, require few vaccinations and work against all variants of the virus – admitted Weaver. However, much more research is needed before a new type of vaccine is put into use. According to specialists, this could happen around 2020-2025.