Scientists Move Closer To a Universal Flu Vaccine

Hugh Pickens writes writes "Vaccines for most diseases typically work for years or decades but with the flu, next fall it will be time to get another dose. Now Carl Zimmer writes that a flurry of recent studies on the virus has brought some hope for a change as flu experts foresee a time when seasonal flu shots are a thing of the past, replaced by long-lasting vaccines. 'That's the goal: two shots when you're young, and then boosters later in life' says Dr. Gary Nabel, predicting that scientists would reach that goal before long: 'in our lifetime, for sure, unless you're 90 years old.' Today's flu vaccines protect people from the virus by letting them make antibodies in advance but a traditional flu vaccine can protect against only flu viruses with a matching hemagglutinin protein. If a virus evolves a different shape, the antibodies cannot latch on, and it escapes destruction. Scientists have long wondered whether they could escape this evolutionary cycle with a universal flu vaccine that would to attack a part of the virus that changes little from year to year so now researchers are focusing on target antigens which are highly conserved between different influenza A virus subtypes. 'Universal vaccination with universal vaccines would put an end to the threat of global disaster that pandemic influenza can cause,' says Dr. Sara Gilbert."

Ah, color me shocked...

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

(From TFA, emphasis mine)

"Several of these have now been taken into clinical development, and this review discusses the progress that has been made, as well as considering the requirements for licensing these new vaccines and how they might be used in the future."

It just wouldn't be a slashdot story if 'intellectual property' didn't pop up somewhere, now would it?

Could cause the flu to become more vicious.

[concealment]

Consider the feedback loop. In response to our actions, the flu itself will change.

We're already seeing how microbes are developing resistance [asiantribune.com] to antibiotics [wired.com], and how germs acquired during healthcare [medscape.com] are more virulent than those out there in the wild.

Do we want to incentivize the flu to mutate into something more vicious and fast-acting?

Sometimes, mother nature represents a balance between extremes. Somewhere between no-flu and a flu that resembles airborne superfast Ebola is the current balance.

I am not saying we should not explore this technology, but with our current record, we should move cautiously.

Re:Extrapolation

[DrgnDancer]

Probably make your arm sore for four or five days? It's not like they're going to be any bigger, it's just changing the composition of the payload.

Re:Accelerated Evolution

[TrekkieGod]

And yes, I meant smallpox.

I got the '76 flu virus

[Kupfernigk]

At the time I was playing field games all year, could easily run five miles, and was getting a very good diet. I was in bed for 10 days with the 76 flu. I later learned that with many viruses the exact opposite of what you claim is the truth - plenty of exercise results in muscle cell damage which makes it easier for the virus to enter them, so athletic people can suffer worse than sedentary people. Poliomyelitis is another one that can do this.

Re:When will this be available?

[RaceProUK]

You mean that whole debacle caused by a faked research paper [nih.gov]? Doesn't sound like some BigPharma conspiracy to me.

Re:How many ways can you

[ChemGeek4501]

Correlation does not imply causation. Your co-worker's paralysis could could have been caused by a number of factors and probably was not thoroughly explored. The curezone article that was shown is a mis-mash of peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed "articles" from main-stream, generally chemophobic press and even some of the books.

Even the recent thermisol flap was debunked by three research agencies in the US: CDC, FDA with the results being reviewed by three independent agencies (NAS-Institute of Medicine, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Still after this tremendous amount of research, we still have TV stars warning us about the evil of vaccines and those containing thermisol in particular. As people hear the tripe without investigating, the begin to believe then they stop immunizing their children, and as such we have seen a resurgance of childhood diseases such as whooping cough.

Generally speaking, flu vaccines won't "prevent' the flu as much as it helps reduce duration and severity of the sympotons, as the virus mutates pretty rapidly. One has to look at the risk/benefit of vaccination, not only for themselves but for society as a whole.

Re:I got the '76 flu virus

[swalve]

There is also the problem where certain flus kill people with good immune systems faster than those with weaker ones. Cytokine Storm [wikipedia.org].