Life-long vaccine against flu very close, scientists say

Yearly vaccinations against the flu may one day become unnecessary. That’s because scientists are close to developing a one-time shot that would last a lifetime. Two separate American teams have yielded promising trials of the life-long vaccine in animals.

Their studies were published in the Science journal and Nature Medicine, reports BBC. However, while clinical trials on humans are still needed, health experts advice the public to continue having their yearly vaccines in the meantime.

Scientists are focusing on stems, instead of the lollipop “head” of the hemagglutinin molecule. Professor John Oxford, flu expert at the University of London, says the latest work appear to be promising, prompting him to say that the revelation of the results is a “red-letter day” in science.

The vaccines were tried not just on mice, but also on ferrets and monkeys. It was also tried it with the bird flu virus H5N1.

One study was by Johnson & Johnson, while the other was by Scripps Research Institute and J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceutical unit. In the latter study on mice and monkey, the researchers discovered that a molecule designed in the lab could mimic a vital part of the flu virus’s attack and protect against multiple strains of influenza, not just one strain, reports the Australian Financial Review.

The target of the Scripps study was the protein hemagglutinin found on the surface of influenza that is in all subtypes of flu and lets the virus enter body cells. The team developed an immunogen, a molecule that mimics the protein structure, to help the body recognise and attack a fundamental component of the flu virus.

Every flu season, scientists develop a new vaccine based on predictions of the strain likely to spread the most. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that for the 30-year period 1976 through 2006, up to 49,000 people in the US died from flu.

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