Universal vaccine still eludes researchers (Baltimore Sun)

August 17, 2009

Hunting ultimate weapon against flu

Universal vaccine still eludes researchers

By Desmon, The Baltimore Sun, August 17, 2009

.... " We cannot protect against pandemics. We cannot make vaccine fast enough "

when a new strain appears, said Dr. Hildegund C.J. Ertl, who heads the vaccine

center at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. " If you have a universal

vaccine, you stop worrying about pandemics. A lot of people are trying. "

....Researchers still haven't determined whether the approach will work...

Several leading researchers said that at this point they envision a universal

flu vaccine as a supplement to current vaccination, not a replacement for the

yearly immunizations. Such a vaccine would be most useful in years like this,

when a new pandemic strain appears and begins circulating widely. Such vaccines

would also be of use in years when the strains of the flu that end up

circulating don't match the strains included in that year's vaccine.

Mismatches are not uncommon. Two years ago, two of the three strains included in

the seasonal vaccine had mutated by the time the vaccine was administered,

leaving people far less protected from that year's flu bugs. The seasonal flu

kills 36,000 Americans a year and sends hundreds of thousands to the hospital.

A universal flu vaccine, on its own, would be cheaper and easier to administer

since it wouldn't have to be given every year...

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