With this year's flu season getting worse, the need for a universal flu vaccine is getting more significant. CDC data shows that during week 7 (February 11-17, 2018), influenza activity remained elevated in the United States. As the current flu vaccine is only about 10 percent to 30 percent effective and the flu activity is likely to continue for several more weeks, government health agencies and drug companies are now rushing to develop a universal flu vaccine that can protect against multiple strains of the flu. However, the development of a universal vaccine is rather challenging. This is the deadliest flu season since 2009 and is dominated by the Influenza A H3N2 virus. The virus is linked to more severe illness.
Cases are also reported, where people get the flu more than once in a season. First they get infected with the H3N2, recover and then get infected with another flu virus such as H1N1. As the flu can make people more vulnerable to secondary infections such as bacterial pneumonia, people 65 and above are advised to make sure that they get the pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine as well. People should also continue taking precautions to prevent spreading germs, including washing their hands and covering coughs and sneezes.
According to the CDC's Influenza Surveillance Report for Week 7, the 2017-2018 seasons' cumulative laboratory-confirmed influenza-related hospitalizations from October 1, 2017 through February 17, 2017 stood at 21, 279. The overall hospitalization rate was 74.5 per 100,000. Adults aged ≥65 years (322.7 per 100,000 population) experienced the highest rate of hospitalization, followed by adults aged 50 - 64 (79.9 per 100, 00o population), and children aged 0 - 4 years (52.6 per 100,000 population).
Other statistics from CDC include the following.
- Every year, 3,000 to 49,000 Americans die annually from flu-related illness, according to the CDC.
- The most frequently identified influenza virus subtype reported by public health laboratories during week 7 was influenza A (H3).
- The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories remained elevated.
- The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was above the system-specific epidemic threshold in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Surveillance System.
- The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 6.4%, which is above the national baseline of 2.2%.
Diagnosis and treatment of influenza is vital. Reliable lab equipment suppliers are offering quality infectious disease kits that provide materials for the qualitative and semi-quantitative determination of IgM-class antibodies to Influenza-Virus in serum.
A Promising Universal Vaccine from NIAID
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is developing a universal flu vaccine, a vaccine that is expected to provide robust, long-lasting protection against multiple subtypes of flu, rather than a select few. This vaccine could eliminate the need to update and administer the seasonal flu vaccine each year and provide protection against newly emerging flu strains, potentially including those that could cause a flu pandemic.
Flu viruses are classified by two proteins on the outer surface of the virus: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). Researchers at this national organization are studying various strategies to create a vaccine that elicits antibodies targeting the HA stem. An experimental vaccine designed by this team showed promise in animal testing and is being evaluated for future trials in humans. In another approach to a universal flu vaccine, NIAID scientists developed a vaccine incorporating four subtypes of the H protein into one vaccine. This vaccine made from non-infectious virus-like particles has been promising in animal studies and may advance to human trials.
At the same time, NIAID Vaccine Research Center scientists have initiated Phase 1/2 studies of a universal flu vaccine strategy that includes an investigational DNA-based vaccine followed by a licensed seasonal influenza vaccine to improve the potency and durability of seasonal influenza vaccines.