New general vaccine against influenza

General vaccine against influenza successfully tested for the first time

08/02/2011

British researchers have evidently developed a general vaccine that will protect against years of all influenza viruses - possibly including future new influenza strains.

Unlike previous vaccines attacks the new vaccine influenza virus inside the virus, thus providing a permanent protection against all flu viruses, the researchers report Sarah Gilbert Jenner Institute. Instead of docking on the surface of the virus, the serum attacks two proteins in the nucleus of the influenza virus. These proteins are an integral part of all influenza viruses, so the vaccine acts as a general serum against all influenza genera, the British researchers said.

British researchers are developing general vaccine against influenza
So far, a new vaccine must be developed for each flu season, as the influenza viruses mutate rapidly and the active ingredient must be adjusted accordingly. In order to avoid this annual procedure, the British researchers have been working for a long time on a vaccine that will work for several years against all influenza viruses and possibly also against future pathogens. The scientists from the Jenner Institute now apparently made significant progress. They developed a vaccine that stimulates the immune system to release more T lymphocytes (T cells for short), which specifically targets all influenza virus strains. The T cells recognize the flu pathogens based on the two proteins and kill the virus before it can lead to an outbreak of the flu.

General vaccine against influenza tested on eleven volunteers
The research team around Sarah Gilbert has reports from the newspaper „The Guardian“ The serum has already been tested on eleven volunteers and scientists have come to the conclusion that the vaccine protects against influenza. As part of their clinical study, Gilbert and colleagues infected the eleven volunteers with a H3N2 flu virus after vaccination and as a control group infected eleven unvaccinated people with the virus. The subsequent comparison of the symptoms showed that „of the vaccinated (...) less influenza (ill) than the non-vaccinated“, explained Study Director Sarah Gilbert. In addition, in the vaccinated study participants, a significantly increased activity of T cells had been found, explained the British scientists.

Further studies are needed to investigate the general vaccine
In order to clearly prove the effect of Generalserum against influenza, however, further studies have to be carried out due to the small number of study participants, according to the researchers of the Jenner Institute. However, if the vaccine's efficacy is confirmed, it could protect all forms of the flu as a generals serum, the British scientists hope. From seasonal flu to swine flu, bird flu and Asian flu, Spanish flu or Hong Kong flu. The vaccine, unlike previous flu vaccines, would be effective over a ten-year period and could potentially protect against future new influenza strains, Gilbert and colleagues said. It may be possible to prevent further pandemics with the help of the serum, according to the experts.

General vaccine could significantly reduce the pandemic risk
Because „the problem with the flu is that there are many different strains that are constantly changing“, explained the director of the Jenner Institute, Adrian Hill. As soon as a flu virus variant from wild birds or pigs mutates, which can also infect humans, all vaccines used so far are ineffective and it takes too long until a suitable serum is available. There are threats of pandemics, as last with the so-called swine flu. Should it mutate a comparable deadly virus, as in 1918 in the Spanish flu, this could claim millions of deaths. With the help of a vaccine that protects against all forms of influenza, the spread to the pandemic could be nipped in the bud, so the hope of the British researchers. Also, due to the long protective effect, vaccination of the patients would be possible throughout the year and, according to scientists, only once every ten years. According to the researchers, the newly developed vaccine would save a lot of time and money.

General vaccine against flu offers significant benefits
Generic serum treatment for the flu would also eliminate the problems of side effects caused by the hasty introduction of needed vaccines, such as the 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic. At that time, after the appearance of the new pathogen, a vaccine had to be developed as soon as possible. However, from the isolation of the pathogen to the mass vaccine production half a year passed and the serum also controversial potentiators (adjuvants) had to be used to promptly provide the allegedly needed number of vaccine doses. In retrospect, it has been found that in particular the potentiators in the swine flu vaccines partly led to massive side effects and, moreover, the number of vaccine doses requested by the health authorities in Germany was clearly too high. A general vaccine would offer significant advantages here, as it would have to make do without an active amplifier in any case and would also be much easier to dose. In addition, a multi-year use of the flu vaccine could also be a more intensive investigation of possible side effects.

Vaccination critics see in the new development of vaccines no medical improvement. On the contrary, many see the topic of swine flu, a propagated vaccination panic. A recent study on influenza vaccine and sleeping sickness is likely to fuel the debate over the benefits of flu vaccines. (Fp)

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Picture: Martin Büdenbender