New study on bird flu: New vaccine could protect against infection for life

There is currently no vaccine to protect against all types of bird flu. American researchers may pave the way with a new approach. In “five to 10 years” there could be a single vaccine. It is also said to protect against other diseases.

• New Study Achieves Results Using Vaccine Platform
• One-time flu vaccine could be available in '5 to 10 years', researcher says
• Vaccine research could help not only against bird flu, but also against HIV and some cancer cells.

Every year there are new types of influenza. That's why manufacturers adapt vaccines every year. But new research from the USA heralds a potential shift in vaccine production: In the future, the vaccine platform could provide a universal influenza vaccine that offers lifelong protection against the avian influenza virus (H5N1).

Testing with vaccine platform: Single vaccination can provide lifelong protection against influenza virus

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University used a special approach to do this. Because the influenza virus mutates, their test relied on responding memory T cells in the lungs. They don’t target the virus’s envelope proteins, but rather its internal structural proteins. These structures hardly change. With the vaccine, these defensive cells aim to specifically attack the inside of the pathogen. To test their theory, they used cytomegalovirus (CMV) as a vector, and linked it to the 1918 influenza virus. They used this to vaccinate macaques in Mauritius. They then infected these non-human primates with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. It turned out that the T cells responded. Six of the 11 vaccinated monkeys survived, while six unvaccinated monkeys in the control group died after infection. The scientists published their results in the journal “Nature Communications“

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“The virus has not changed these important parts of itself, even after nearly 100 years of evolution,” he said.Learn daily“It worked because the inner protein of the virus was well preserved,” says lead author Jonah Sacha, professor and chair of pathobiology at Oregon State University’s Oregon National Primate Research Center. That could make a vaccine. “I think that means a one-time flu vaccination is realistic in five to 10 years,” Sacha says.

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Vaccine technology can also help fight cancer and HIV.

The platform could also help treat other diseases. It’s already being tested in a clinical study to protect against HIV. Additional research suggests it could also work against certain cancer cells. “This is a game changer. There’s no doubt we’re on the cusp of the next generation of infectious disease treatments.”

Why we report this: Like human influenza, avian influenza, or bird flu, is caused by influenza A viruses, but with different subtypes. The largest outbreak of bird flu ever documented is currently underway, spanning nearly the entire globe and also affecting Europe. The pathogen primarily affects birds, but has also been found in several mammals, including cats, bears and seals. So far, human infections with the variant currently circulating around the world have only been reported sporadically. But health experts warn of the risk that the virus could adapt to humans and then be transmitted from person to person.

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