Latest news with #InfluenzaAVirus
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Vaccine developed in Nebraska could signal end to annual flu shot
Eric Weaver, director of the Nebraska Center for Virology, consults with Zahidul Islam, who recently joined the Weaver laboratory as a graduate student. Weaver led a study whose newly published findings reveal a breakthrough on flu vaccines for swine, birds and humans. (Courtesy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) LINCOLN — A new vaccine strategy developed and tested by a team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln could signal an end to the annual flu shot routine. The possible breakthrough is laid out in newly published research in Nature Communications. The study, 'Epitope-Optimized Vaccine Elicits Cross-Species Immunity Against Influenza A Virus,' describes a vaccine that protects against H1N1 swine flu and can also protect against influenza in birds and humans. 'This research sets the stage for developing universal influenza vaccines so people won't have to go to the doctor and get a flu shot every year,' said Eric Weaver, director of the Nebraska Center for Virology who led the Nebraska research team. 'This vaccine will protect you against the different strains that are out there.' According to a UNL news release, swine vaccinated with immunogens designed in Weaver's lab showed no signs of illness after being exposed to a commonly circulating flu strain. They developed antibodies against multiple viruses from several decades and several species and maintained their immune response throughout the six-month study. Based on the study results, Weaver said that immunity in pigs could last at least a decade. 'We hope that would translate into humans,' he said. Called the Epigraph vaccine, after computer software used to design it, the vaccine significantly outperformed a commercial vaccine used by the pork industry and a 'wild type' vaccine based on naturally occurring strains with similar immunogens. Both the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture supported the study. The newly published findings confirm previous research that showed the vaccine design protected against the H3 influenza subtype. Weaver said the new results are particularly encouraging because H1 swine flu variants are detected twice as often as H3 variants and have nearly three times more genetic diversity. 'This H1 subtype is the largest and most genetically diverse subtype in pigs,' Weaver said. 'It's also among the viruses that jumped from swine to humans to cause the 2009 swine flu pandemic. It's a big target and one of the harder targets to hit.' The UNL team noted that influenza A infects as much as 15% of the human population and causes thousands of deaths annually. Today's vaccines often lack long-lasting protection because of the genetic diversity and rapid mutation of proteins that help form the virus. Another challenge in controlling influenza, according to UNL, is that it infects multiple species, including birds, swine, horses and dogs, along with humans. 'Swine often act as a mixing vessel because they are susceptible to human and bird flu variants, contributing to the evolution of novel forms of the disease that can be transmitted back to humans,' the statement said. UNL offered as an example the 2009 swine flu pandemic, transmitted from hogs to humans. About 25% of the human population was infected with the new variant, and more than a half million people died from it in the first year, according to some estimates. 'If we can prevent influenza in swine, we can also prevent zoonotic jumps from avians through swine to humans, or from swine directly to humans,' Weaver said. 'We could basically cut off this evolutionary arsenal or advantage that the virus has.' A goal, he said, is to produce a pediatric vaccine that will protect people throughout most of their life — and, ultimately, eradicate influenza. Weaver's vaccine strategy, which has been patented, used the Epigraph software to study genetic codes of more than 6,000 strains of influenza virus from 1930 to 2021 and create a vaccine that represents their most common epitopes. Epitopes were described as regions on a virus that trigger the immune system to produce antibodies to neutralize the virus and to send T-cells to destroy infected cells. Also according to the news release, some epitopes disappear as the virus evolves. The computer-derived Epigraph strategy increases the likelihood that the vaccine contains the epitopes needed to trigger an immune response and prevent illness. 'Our ability to understand how viruses evolve has increased exponentially in the past 20 years,' Weaver said. 'What I see on the horizon is a third wave, where we go from good vaccines to universal, lifelong vaccines.' The UNL team now plans to test a vaccine to protect against both H1 and H3 strains of influenza. Weaver said that he doesn't have a projection yet for when the longer-lasting vaccine for humans might be available, but said his team is in discussions with a biotechnology company for that purpose. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Forbes
27-03-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Worrying Signals Emerge As Bird Flu Gains Resistance Mutation
Two new studies released in 2025 provide a mixed picture of how well our current antivirals are holding up against H5N1, the highly pathogenic bird flu virus that continues to spill over into mammals and humans. The good news: H5N1 viruses from recent human cases remain susceptible to frontline antiviral drugs. More concerning is a resistance mutation that emerged and spread rapidly during a poultry outbreak in Canada, raising flags about the virus's potential to evolve past our defenses. The antiviral oseltamivir (commonly known as Tamiflu) is currently recommended for treating and preventing H5N1 infections. It works by inhibiting neuraminidase, a surface protein the virus uses to release itself from infected cells and spread through the body. But this treatment only works if the virus remains sensitive to the drug. Tamiflu, the same antiviral used to treat ordinary seasonal influenza, is the front line medication ... More recommended for treating highly pathogenic bird flu (Photo by Rui Vieira/PA Images via Getty Images) In a study published in the CDC's journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers tested H5N1 viruses from human infections reported in Cambodia, Chile, and the United States during 2023–2024. These viruses belonged to two clades (genetic lineages): 2.3.2.1c and 2.3.4.4b. All tested viruses were susceptible to oseltamivir and other neuraminidase inhibitors, including zanamivir and peramivir, as well as baloxavir, a newer drug that targets a different viral protein. Most also remained sensitive to older M2-blocking antivirals—except for two viruses isolated in Cambodia. These results support continued use of oseltamivir as the first-line treatment and for post-exposure prophylaxis in close contacts of infected individuals. Computer generated 3D model, showing a cross-section of the green RNP spirals, blue hemagglutinin, ... More red neuraminidase, and purple m2 ion channels that constitute the structure of the Influenza A Virus (Orthomyxovirus family) image courtesy CDC/Douglas Jordan, 2009. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) However, not all recent developments are reassuring. A separate study published in Emerging Microbes & Infections documented a large outbreak of H5N1 in poultry in British Columbia, Canada. Genetic sequencing of the virus revealed the presence of the H275Y mutation in the neuraminidase gene—well-known to confer resistance to oseltamivir. This mutation had previously rendered the majority of seasonal H1N1 viruses resistant to the drug during the 2008–2009 flu season. What makes the Canadian case notable is how quickly the resistant virus spread. Within 27 days of detection, it had jumped across 44 farms. While resistance mutations like H275Y are often associated with reduced viral fitness, the Canadian outbreak strain spread quickly between farms, suggesting that this particular virus was able to transmit efficiently despite carrying the mutation. The mutation appears to have arisen through reassortment, a genetic mixing process that occurs when influenza viruses exchange segments. In this case, the virus acquired its neuraminidase segment from a different influenza lineage circulating in North American birds. These findings illustrate how resistance can arise in animal populations, well before human outbreaks begin. They also highlight the importance of genomic surveillance—not only in people but also in poultry and wild birds, where the virus continues to evolve. Combination therapies may offer a way to slow resistance. Studies in animals have shown that using multiple drugs with different mechanisms simultaneously can reduce viral load more effectively and lower the chances of resistance emerging. But in the real world, access to such treatments remains limited. For now, Tamiflu still works—but the virus is changing. Our response must keep pace.
