Could a New Vaccine Protect Us from Swine, Human, and Bird Flu?

New Delhi, May 13 (NationPress) - Researchers in the US have introduced an innovative vaccine that offers protection against H1N1 swine flu while also safeguarding against influenza affecting both humans and birds.

The unique vaccine strategy developed and validated by scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln can potentially eliminate the necessity for yearly flu vaccinations.

Virologist Eric Weaver from the university stated, "This research lays the groundwork for crafting universal influenza vaccines, so individuals won’t require annual visits to the doctor for flu shots."

Weaver added, "This vaccine is designed to guard against the various strains currently in circulation."

The findings, published in Nature Communications, revealed that swine administered the immunogens showed no signs of illness after exposure to a commonly circulating flu strain. They also generated antibodies against multiple viruses spanning several decades and species, maintaining their immune response for the duration of a six-month longitudinal study.

Post-experiment regression analysis suggested that the immunity could last for up to a decade, according to Weaver.

The Epigraph vaccine, named after the computer software utilized in its design, significantly surpassed a commercial vaccine in use within the pork industry and a "wild type" vaccine based on naturally occurring strains.

This study corroborates earlier research indicating that the vaccine design offers protection against the H3 influenza subtype.

The recent results are particularly promising as H1 swine flu variants are identified twice as frequently as H3 variants and exhibit nearly three times the genetic diversity, Weaver noted.

Weaver remarked, "This H1 subtype is the largest and most genetically diverse subtype in pigs. It is also one of the viruses that transitioned from swine to humans, leading to the 2009 swine flu pandemic. This makes it a significant target and a challenging one to tackle."

The influenza A virus infects up to 15 percent of the human population annually, causing thousands of fatalities. Current vaccines frequently fail to offer enduring protection due to the rapid genetic mutations of viral proteins.

Another challenge in managing influenza is its ability to infect various species, including birds, swine, horses, dogs, and humans.

Swine are often viewed as a mixing vessel, susceptible to both human and bird flu variants, which promotes the evolution of new strains that can be transmitted back to humans.

Weaver elaborated, "If we can avert influenza in swine, we can also prevent zoonotic transfers from birds to swine to humans, or directly from swine to humans. This could effectively cut off the evolutionary advantage the virus possesses. Our ultimate aim is to eliminate or eradicate influenza."