They seek to create universal vaccine against influenza

• May 3, 2024

The flu it is one of the most common viral diseases in humans; It usually occurs during times of the year where abrupt changes in temperature occur.

Nowadays, the formula of vaccinations that exist for this virus have to change every year to ensure that they provide protection against the strains that are in circulation. In this regard, a team of scientists from the Oxford University , United Kingdom, found an antibody that seems to be effective for any type of influenza, which could work against all variants of the virus that make thousands of millions of people sick each year.

What's new?

The traditional vaccines Currently used, make the body generate antibodies against the disease, usually each type of antibody is unique and defends the body of a specific type of antigen (bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc)

Unlike the traditional ones, this new vaccine directly attacks the virus, besides that it shoots the number in the production of T lymphocytes or T cells , which are another fundamental element of the immune system and responsible for combating what enters our body.

The antibody found focuses on the proteins of inside the virus of influenza (which are the same in all strains and not in those of the outer layer that can mutate ) thus avoiding having to prepare each season new variants of the vaccine depending on the current strain.

The tests until today

For the first stage of the test, 11 healthy volunteers were vaccinated and infected, along with 11 other unvaccinated individuals, with the strain Wisconsin of the flu virus H3N2. The result was overwhelming; the vaccine worked in the 11 people who received it, who showed a Higher level activation of the T lymphocytes.

The team of researchers considers that this advance will be especially positive in the case of old people , so in the Jenner Institute already tested in individuals older than 50 years, a group of the population that usually does not have a positive response to traditional vaccines .

However, will still be years until this vaccine is a reality, since to be approved by the health authorities it has to pass more demanding tests, involving thousands of individuals and not to a score, as is the case in this study.

Video Medicine: Toward a Universal Influenza Virus Vaccine (May 2024).