tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Researchers at the University of Southampton, University of Oxford and Retroscreeen Virology Ltd have discovered a series of peptides, found on the internal structures of influenza viruses that could lead to the development of a universal vaccine for influenza, one that gives people immunity against all strains of the disease, including seasonal, avian, and swine flu.
Influenza, an acute viral infection, affects hundreds of thousands of people a year and puts an enormous strain on healthcare providers globally. The last pandemic flu outbreak in the UK ? swine flu ? was in 2009 when it claimed 457 lives. While previous pandemics have been more serious, there is a heightened risk of more severe pandemics in the future.
The scientific collaboration used a research method known as ?Human Viral Challenge Studies?, where healthy volunteers are infected with influenza virus, and their immune responses closely monitored in an isolation unit.
These were important to the research, published online in Nature Medicine, as they allowed the healthy volunteers to be held in ?sterile? isolation conditions and ensured they had no existing infections. The volunteers were then ?challenged? with influenza virus, with blood samples being taken at regular intervals to observe how their immune systems responded to the viral infection.
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http://www.redorbit.com/news/health...ld-lead-to-a-universal-vaccine-for-influenza/
Influenza, an acute viral infection, affects hundreds of thousands of people a year and puts an enormous strain on healthcare providers globally. The last pandemic flu outbreak in the UK ? swine flu ? was in 2009 when it claimed 457 lives. While previous pandemics have been more serious, there is a heightened risk of more severe pandemics in the future.
The scientific collaboration used a research method known as ?Human Viral Challenge Studies?, where healthy volunteers are infected with influenza virus, and their immune responses closely monitored in an isolation unit.
These were important to the research, published online in Nature Medicine, as they allowed the healthy volunteers to be held in ?sterile? isolation conditions and ensured they had no existing infections. The volunteers were then ?challenged? with influenza virus, with blood samples being taken at regular intervals to observe how their immune systems responded to the viral infection.
..
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health...ld-lead-to-a-universal-vaccine-for-influenza/