Author: Mike Colagrossi / Source: Big Think
- Scientists have discovered immune cells that can fight all different kinds of the flu virus.
- Depending on a patient’s immune system, one shot could cover someone for 10 years or potentially life.
- This breakthrough could save thousands worldwide.
A new treatment shows promise in becoming a one-time flu vaccine.
In a recent study conducted by Professor Katherine Kedzierska at the University of Melbourne, researchers discovered a set of immune cells that have the ability to fight off all forms of the flu virus.These “killer cells,” can target Influenza A,B, and C strains.
What’s the breakthrough with this vaccine?
In the study, which was published in Nature, researchers identified parts of the virus that haven’t changed within the past century. This is a novel and exciting approach for creating a one and done vaccine. The team started out by analyzing parts of the flu virus that were all common in each influenza strain. The goal was to find out which section would be the best target for a universal vaccine.
Professor Kedzierska states:
“It was really like finding a needle in a haystack. We started with 67,000 viral sequences and narrowed it down to three sequences that the killer T-cells can recognize.”
Kedzierska says that although this is a major breakthrough, at this point the universal vaccine would only be effective for half of the world’s population, because of the diversity of DNA, as…
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