They are developing a promising new approach to creating a universal flu vaccine.

A promising new approach to development universal flu vaccine, which provides lifelong immunity, was created by a group of researchers who confirmed their theory using the 1918 flu virus as an example.

The research you publish Natural communications indicates that the vaccine also elicited “a robust immune response in non-human primates exposed to the H5N1 avian influenza virus.”

The vaccine was not based on the H5N1 virus, but rather the primates were vaccinated against the 1918 flu virus that killed millions of people worldwide.

Team led by Oregon Health and Science University (OSHU) in the United States reported that six of eleven primates vaccinated against the 1918 virus survived H5N1, while all six in a control group that was not vaccinated and exposed to the same virus died.

The research opens the possibility of developing a protective vaccine against H5N1 for humans and that “within five or 10 years, a single flu vaccine will be a reality,” he said. Iona Sashafrom OSHU and head of the study.

The new approach uses a vaccine platform previously developed by OHSU scientists to fight tuberculosis and HIV; in fact, it is already being used in clinical trials against the virus that causes AIDS.

This technique involves introducing small fragments of target pathogens into cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common herpes virus that infects most people throughout life and typically causes mild or no symptoms.

The virus acts as a vector, specifically designed to induce an immune response from the body’s own T cells.

This approach differs from conventional vaccines, is designed to induce an antibody response directed against the most recent evolution of the virus, which is distinguished by the arrangement of proteins covering the outer surface.

Influenza is not a single virus, but it thrives on the spike protein on its coat, so vaccines change every year.

One type of T cell in the lungs, known as effector memory T cells, targets the virus’s internal structural proteins rather than its constantly mutating outer shell.

The internal structure does not change much over time, providing T cells with a fixed target to seek out and destroy any cells infected with old or newly emerging influenza viruses.

To test their T-cell theory, the researchers developed a CMV-based vaccine using the 1918 influenza virus as a template.

The team exposed vaccinated primates to fine aerosols containing the H5N1 avian influenza virus, and six of 11 survived.

“It worked because the protein inside the virus was so well conserved,” so much so that even after nearly a century of evolution, it was unable to change these fundamental parts of itself, Sasha explained.

Inhalation of aerosolized H5N1 influenza virus triggers a cascade of events that can cause respiratory failure, but vaccine-induced immunity was sufficient to limit infection and lung damage, protecting the monkeys from this very serious infection.

Moreover, Sasha believes that the platform could “absolutely” be useful against other mutant viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.