Universal Flu Vaccine in Development

"This is a significant first step in developing a universal vaccine to help protect against pandemic influenza," said Robert Belshe, M.D., director of the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development.

Belshe, the lead researcher who studied a vaccine made with proteins from strains of influenza viruses A and B, presented his findings today at the National Foundation for Infectious Disease Conference for Vaccine Research in Baltimore.

Dr. Robert Belshe (Photo courtesy SLU)

In the study, 377 healthy adults received three injections of a universal influenza vaccine, known as Bivalent Influenza Peptide Conjugate Vaccine, over a six month period.

Researchers found that a low dose of the vaccine is well tolerated and safe, Belshe said.

In addition, the low dose vaccine evoked an immune response – high antibody titers – that is similar to levels associated with protecting small animals infected with influenza from serious disease and death. More testing is needed, Belshe said.

The finding is especially important today as countries around the world ramp up their efforts to protect against a new, deadly strain of swine flu that has claimed 149 lives in Mexico since the outbreak began earlier this month. The disease has been detected in at least six countries.

"At this point there is not a vaccine for this swine flu strain. It's a new strain of influenza," said Dr. Richard Besser, acting director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a news conference Sunday. "And so what we're talking about is whether it's warranted at this point to move toward manufacturing a vaccine."

Before vaccines, many children died of diseases vaccines now prevent, like whooping cough, measles, and polio. (Photo courtesy CDC)

The CDC has begun preliminary work on creating a vaccine to protect against the A/H1N1 strain of swine flu. "We've created that seed stock, we've identified that virus, and discussions are underway so that should we decide to work on manufacturing a vaccine, we can work towards that goal very quickly," Besser said.

Belshe's research is significant in view of the search for a vaccine to protect against a deadly influenza pandemic, which is a global outbreak of the disease that spreads quickly with lethal consequences. The World Health Organization warns that the new strain of swine flu could become pandemic.

Currently drug companies manufacture a different flu vaccine each year to match the strains of influenza that researchers predict will circulate. Adding a universal influenza vaccine to a seasonal vaccine would help improve protection against strains of influenza as they change each year.

"Novel vaccines, capable of inducing long-lasting, broad immunity against divergent strains, including potential pandemic viruses, are highly desirable," Belshe said.

A vaccine is a substance that stimulates the body's immune response - the goal of vaccination is to prevent or control an infection. Vaccines prevent disease by producing substances made by the body to prevent infections called antibodies and by producing cells that can fight the cause of the disease.

For flu vaccines, the vaccine industry is moving from egg-based vaccine production processes, which take at least six months, to faster, more advanced cell-based methods that are still in the experimental stages.

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