Whatever Happened to the Universal Flu Vaccine?

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Updates: Whatever Happened to the Universal Flu Vaccine?

From the May 2009 Scientific American Magazine

A goal in fighting influenza is a universal vaccine, one that works on many

strains of the pathogen [see " Beating the Flu in a Single Shot " ; Scientific

American, June 2008]. But the virus's outer coat, consisting mainly of proteins

called hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, frequently mutate, forcing the

reformulation of vaccines every season. Two studies report the discovery of

human antibodies that target an area on hemagglutinin that does not change much.

(In contrast, current drugs, such as Tamiflu, aim for neuraminidase.) In tests,

one of the antibodies protected mice from lethal doses of avian flu (H5N1) and

other strains. Large amounts were needed, however, so any human treatment could

be expensive. The papers were published in the March Nature Structural and

Molecular Biology and online February 26 by Science Express.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=updates-flu-vaccine