Study: Intranasal administration of octavalent next-generation influenza vaccine elicits protective immune responses against seasonal and pre-pandemic viruses. Image Credit: Mongkolchon Akesin / Shutterstock.com A recent study published in the Journal of Virology discusses a recent vaccine candidate that has the potential to neutralize both existing and emerging flu viruses effectively.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), seasonal influenza epidemics result in approximately 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and about 290,000 to 650,000 respiratory deaths worldwide each year. Modern flu vaccines The three human influenza viruses, A, B, and C are represented as IAV, IBV and ICV, respectively. Each type has multiple 18 and 11 subtypes distinguished by their hemagglutin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) surface glycoproteins, respectively.
H1N1 and H3N2 IAV strains and IBV circulate extensively in humans. Comparatively, H2, H5, and H7 subtypes are endemic in birds. Current flu vaccines are based on three or four seasonal subtypes of circulating human strains and range in their effectiveness from 10% to 60% The high mutation rate and selective immune pressure of influenza cause frequent antigenic variation to occur, enabling immune evasion.
Thus, updated vaccine formulations are necessitated every year. Emerging viral variants could also cause a new pandemic if they escape pre-existing immunity. What are recombi.