Working towards a one shot life-long flu vaccine

An extraordinary breakthrough in influenza research moves us closer to the development of a vaccine that can protect against all new influenza viruses, with the potential of developing a one-off universal flu shot. The research led by the University of Melbourne, in conjunction with Fudan University in China, investigated the immunity response of patients to the first outbreak of the avian-derived H7N9 influenza virus that emerged in China in 2013. Research into the H7N9 influenza strain provides new insights into how the mechanism of the immune system responds to an alien influenza virus and how the disease progresses. The findings identify the ‘killer’ CD8+ T cells as providing optimal protection against the influenza virus. “This deadly avian-derived H7N9 influenza virus is contracted from birds and began with people buying chickens in marketplaces,” says Associate Professor Kedzierska from the University of Melbourne. “Currently people contract the virus from birds, however if the virus starts to...