Doctors Take a Shot at Developing the “Universal” Flu Vaccine

Hot soup, a warm blanket, a runny nose, and a pocket full of cough drops- we all know what flu season is like. It’s the most wonderful, and perhaps the most head-throbbing, time of the year. However, advances in medicine may have not only found a solution for preventing several forms of those annoying flu viruses, but also a way keeping you alert in your everyday activities.

New breakthroughs have produced a wonder antibody that prevents the contraction of almost all influenza A and B strains. Unlike most flu medications, this new antibody does not just assist the body as it fights off the illness, but instead serves as a total treatment. This new antibody could significantly assist patients who have contracted the flu and have not received the vaccine, which is a major defense mechanism for fighting the viruses.

The solution was found by researchers who conducted an experiment with human antibodies. Professionals injected a control group of patients with the flu and then extracted the antibodies from their systems after they had done battle with the virus. These antibodies were then introduced to mice, which were later found to have developed a defense system against the main influenza A and B viruses.  These antibodies have even been shown to protect against the H1Ni virus, also known as swine flu.

Although effective in mice, one might add that human bodies react much differently than rodent bodies. The possibility of such a beneficial and powerful injection has many on eagerly awaiting approval and implementation of the medicine. But the true test will be performing experiments with this vaccine in humans to study the interactions in the body. Until doctors and specialists are certain of how the vaccine works in humans, the effectiveness cannot be truly determined.

However, if successful, this development could be a stepping stone for greater innovations in this field, potentially leading to the creation of a new “universal” immunization for all flu viruses. This vaccine would be administered as a one-time shot to wipe out the risk for any type of flu, and clear your calendar of yearly appointments for those dreaded shots.

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/08/09/discovery-may-hold-key-for-universal-flu-vaccine/

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/flu-guide/flu-treatment-care