NIH-supported study reveals a novel indicator of influenza immunity

A study of influenza virus transmission in Nicaraguan households reveals new insights into the type of immune responses that may be protective against influenza virus infection, report investigators. The findings could help scientists design more effective influenza vaccines and lead to the development of novel universal influenza vaccines. The research was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The research team included scientists from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the NIAID-funded Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Investigators from the Nicaragua Ministry of Health, the Sustainable Sciences Institute and the Socrates Flores Health Center, all in Managua, Nicaragua, conducted the field study. Their findings are published in HA. The study focused on antibodies produced against the “stem” of the mushroom-shaped influenza...