The Vaccine to Cure Every Strain of Flu (1 Viewer)

[RightinNYC]

British scientists are on the verge of producing a revolutionary flu vaccine that works against all major types of the disease.

Described as the 'holy grail' of flu vaccines, it would protect against all strains of influenza A - the virus behind both bird flu and the nastiest outbreaks of winter flu.

Just a couple of injections could give long-lasting immunity - unlike the current vaccine which has to be given every year.

The brainchild of scientists at Cambridge biotech firm Acambis, working with Belgian researchers, the vaccine will be tested on humans for the first time in the next few months.

Current flu vaccines focus on two proteins on the surface of the virus. However, these constantly mutate in a bid to fool the immune system, making it impossible for vaccine manufacturers to keep up with the creation of each new strain.

The universal vaccines focus on a different protein called M2, which has barely changed during the last 100 years.


The protein is found in all types of Influenza A, including the current bird flu and the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic which killed up to 50 million across the globe

This is fantastic news and if it turns out as well as it appears, I can't even fathom how lifechanging this will be. The flu is responsible for the death of more people than any other disease throughout history, and continues to kill 500,000 people each year today, 36,000 of them in the US (More than twice as many people die from the flu than die from AIDS in the US).

The development of a vaccine that would be long lasting and would cover ALL types of flu would seem to be the greatest advancement in medicine in recent times.

 

[doughgirl]

I agree it would be wonderful, although it just seems to good to be true. I guess only time will tell. Until then i guess we will all suffer.

How many people here actually got a flu shot? And do you think they help? I have never had one but I couldn't get one this year because I had a hip replacement.

 

[RightinNYC]

I agree it would be wonderful, although it just seems to good to be true. I guess only time will tell. Until then i guess we will all suffer.

How many people here actually got a flu shot? And do you think they help? I have never had one but I couldn't get one this year because I had a hip replacement.

I never got one before because it didn't seem worth the time or effort to get one that would only last a year and only covered some types. However, if they lasted decades and covered all types, I'd definitely want one.

 

[Skip]

I agree, this is major if it is true. I usually get one every few years or so; I think the last time I got one was in '04... maybe last year. Anyways, to effectively eliminate the flu would be the greatest medical breakthrough of our age.

 

[jujuman13]

DOUGHGIRL, Why would having a hip replacement prevent you having a Flu shot?
I will celebrate the Birth of Jesus at the time of year he was actually born, this was at Easter.
Christmas is a pagan festival that was taken over by the Catholic Church because they were unable to stop ppl from celebrating the year end with pagan festivities.
Easter is the time of year when Jews or indeed anyone living under the auspices of the Roman Empire were required by Roman Law to present themselves for the Census as well as to pay their taxes, this Law prevailed in Israel as well.

With regard to this all in Flu shot, I agree if it does what it claims to do it will be fantastic, but I do wonder how long will it be before it becomes universally available?

 

[Kandahar]

Current flu vaccines focus on two proteins on the surface of the virus. However, these constantly mutate in a bid to fool the immune system, making it impossible for vaccine manufacturers to keep up with the creation of each new strain.

The universal vaccines focus on a different protein called M2, which has barely changed during the last 100 years.

But isn't the reason that it hasn't changed in 100 years BECAUSE no one has tried to block it before? It'll probably start evolving as soon as the need to do so arises.

 

[RightinNYC]

But isn't the reason that it hasn't changed in 100 years BECAUSE no one has tried to block it before? It'll probably start evolving as soon as the need to do so arises.

Perhaps, but that will likely take some number of years. Even so, I doubt it would regain its former strength, and it's still not a reason to take advantage of any advances we can find now.

 

[Kandahar]

Perhaps, but that will likely take some number of years. Even so, I doubt it would regain its former strength, and it's still not a reason to take advantage of any advances we can find now.

Oh I agree. It sounds like a very promising vaccine and I'm all for pouring money into researching it. I'm just skeptical of whether or not it'll work as well as the hype suggests, since flu strains evolve very quickly. But if nothing else, maybe it'll at least prevent the most threatening strains, like bird flu.

Personally I'm excited about the true "holy grails" of medicine: anti-aging medicine and cell-repair nanomachines. But they're a few decades away. :smile:

 

[danarhea]

This is fantastic news and if it turns out as well as it appears, I can't even fathom how lifechanging this will be. The flu is responsible for the death of more people than any other disease throughout history, and continues to kill 500,000 people each year today, 36,000 of them in the US (More than twice as many people die from the flu than die from AIDS in the US).

The development of a vaccine that would be long lasting and would cover ALL types of flu would seem to be the greatest advancement in medicine in recent times.

Good news if true, but I have to remain skeptical until the studies are released. Most forms of the flue are mutations from other strains of the flu, and current strains will mutate into yet other strains, so I find it incredible that that there would be a "one shot" cure. However, if this turns out to be true, it will be a huge advance.

 

[1069]

This is fantastic news and if it turns out as well as it appears, I can't even fathom how lifechanging this will be. The flu is responsible for the death of more people than any other disease throughout history, and continues to kill 500,000 people each year today, 36,000 of them in the US (More than twice as many people die from the flu than die from AIDS in the US).

The development of a vaccine that would be long lasting and would cover ALL types of flu would seem to be the greatest advancement in medicine in recent times.

Right on! Sounds perfect. :smile:

 

[doughgirl]

“DOUGHGIRL, Why would having a hip replacement prevent you having a Flu shot?”

They said it was an “alive agent” and that I should wait three months until the bone attached to the titanium hip. I also have to take medications before having my teeth cleaned or just about any surgical procedure done. I have a card now that I carry with me that lists some of the procedures. If you get any infection you take medication because that infection can travel by blood to the hip. And if it does get to the hip, it could be bad.

I do what they tell me......but it was worth it. My new hip is great. It was bone on bone before and I could barely walk. Although I wont run marathons or jump on it, I will pretty much be able to do everything else and for me thats dance, tennis and golf. It was worth it !!!!!!!!

 

[Adrian]

But isn't the reason that it hasn't changed in 100 years BECAUSE no one has tried to block it before? It'll probably start evolving as soon as the need to do so arises.

That's not how evolution works. A virus isn't going to evolve just because we are suddenly immune to it. Evolution works through a series of elimination due to natural selection. It isn't a conscious process.

 

[Kandahar]

That's not how evolution works. A virus isn't going to evolve just because we are suddenly immune to it. Evolution works through a series of elimination due to natural selection. It isn't a conscious process.

Of course it will evolve when we become immune to it. The strains of flu that are more resistant to the new vaccine will thrive, the ones that aren't will not, and pretty soon the resistant strains will be more common than the non-resistant strains.

This could take anywhere from months to decades, depending on the effectiveness of the vaccine. It sounds promising, but I'm skeptical of the hype.

 

[Adrian]

Of course it will evolve when we become immune to it. The strains of flu that are more resistant to the new vaccine will thrive, the ones that aren't will not, and pretty soon the resistant strains will be more common than the non-resistant strains.

This could take anywhere from months to decades, depending on the effectiveness of the vaccine. It sounds promising, but I'm skeptical of the hype.

Those strains would have thrived in any case. The problem, as it appears to me, is in not having backup vaccines. It's a constant cloak-and-dagger war whereby one silver bullet doesn't exist. One vaccine in itself isn't the problem. It's in not having the next one on standby.