Vaccine offers hope in flu virus fight

A new type of flu vaccine has been developed which suggests that a “universal” protection against the killer virus could be possible, according to new research.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd May 2013, 01:01 BST

The vaccine targets part of the virus common to all strains, meaning it could provide a way around the problem of the bug frequently mutating and making preventative treatment ineffective.

It was created by a team working for US healthcare company Sanofi using techniques that have also raised hopes of a new generation of vaccines against other diseases.

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In lab tests on ferrets, which can suffer the same strains of flu as humans, it was more potent and affected more strains than the current licensed vaccine, the team said..

In the paper, published yesterday in the journal Nature, team leader Gary Nabel said: “This structure-based, self-assembling synthetic nanoparticle vaccine improves the potency and breadth of influenza virus immunity, and it provides a foundation for building broader vaccine protection against emerging influenza viruses and other pathogens.”

Flu kills between 250,000 and 500,000 globally per year, according to the World Health Organisation.

Earlier this month experts warned that a deadly bird flu virus sweeping through China had taken the first steps towards becoming a global threat to human populations.

Related topics:FluWorld Health OrganisationChina