Bern: Researchers say that the first antibody which can fight all types of the influenza A virus has been discovered.
Science Express published news regarding experiments on mice infected with flu. These experiments showed that antibody could be used as an “emergency treatment”.
The experiments described as a “good step forward” have raised hopes that a “universal vaccine” will soon be developed.
Many research groups around the world are trying to develop a universal vaccine. They need to attack something common to all influenza which does not change or mutate.
“We’ve tried every subtype of influenza A and it interacts with them all. We eventually hope it can be used as a therapy by injecting the antibody to stop the infection.” says John Skehel, MRC scientist at Mill Hill.
Mice injected with the antibody up to two days after being given a lethal dose of the virus recovered and survived.
This is only the antibody, however, not the vaccine.
A vaccine would need to trigger the human body’s immune system to produce the antibody itself.
