Scientists Uncover Breakthrough in Development of Universal Flu Vaccine

Researchers at the University of Melbourne have discovered immune cells that can fight all different kinds of the influenza (flu) virus. Known as “killer cells,” they can target influenza A, B and C strains, which shows promise for developing a one-time flu vaccine. The researchers started by analyzing parts of the flu virus that were all common in each flu strain, with a goal of finding out which section would be the best target for a universal vaccine. By doing this, they identified parts of the virus that haven’t changed within the past century. According to one of the researchers, Katherine Kedzierska, PhD, a professor at the University of Melbourne, “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.”

Although this is a major breakthrough, Dr. Kedzierska says at this point, the universal vaccine would be effective only for half of the world’s population because of the diversity of DNA, as in those who have the killer T cells and those who have a different set. Therefore, the researchers are now using similar cutting-edge technology to find similar killer T cells for the rest of the global population so everyone can be protected.