Researchers have discovered antibodies that may make possible an influenza vaccine capable of preventing many or all strains. So far, research has only shown effectiveness against H5 and H1 strains, but the basic technique (involving an attack on the ‘neck’ of the Hemagluttin spike rather than its ‘tip’) gives it a much more generic capacity (because the ‘tip’ mutates much more rapidly than the so-called ‘neck’) than traditional vaccines. Some researchers indicated that this discovery opens up possibility for creating powerful vaccines against a range of “rapidly mutating pathogens”. What do the flu experts think?
COLLABORATORY: VITAL SYSTEMS SECURITY
The Vital Systems Security collaboration examines how, today, security is being constituted as an object of knowledge, intervention, and political reflection. It proposes that the security of vital systems such as energy, transportation, communication and health is one norm in relationship to which security is being reproblematized. A central goal of the collaboration is to examine these issues through collective, conceptually driven inquiry that addresses rapidly developing contemporary problems.
Deat Sirs,
See:
http://www.nature.com/nsmb/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nsmb.1566.html
for the abstract!
Sincerley Yours
M.D.
This is quite interesting research indeed. Note however, that the antibodies discovered by this team are only working for H1 and H5 flu viruses, not for H3 viruses, which are responsible for outbreaks of regular seasonal influenza (in addition to H1 viruses). The other perennial issue is the emergence of resistance. As we have seen this season with H1 viruses, they are now almost entierly resistant to oseltamivir (tamiflu). So having a broad range of possible pharmaceutical interventions available is certainly a good thing.