Credit NIAID
#13,995
The Journal of Infectious Diseases has just published an influenza-specific supplemental issue, featuring 15 articles, 5 of which are either free or open-access. The full online table of contents can be found at:
https://academic.oup.com/jid/issue/219/Supplement_1Many of the authors will be very familiar to readers of this blog, including: Anthony S Fauci, David M Morens; Jeffery K Taubenberger, Arnold S Monto, and Yoshihiro Kawaoka. I've not had a chance to read any of these articles, but will do so over the coming days, and possibly blog one or two.
A brief listing, followed by a press release from the NIH, after which I'll have a brief postscript.
Volume 219, Issue Supplement_1, 15 April 2019
100 Years of Fighting Pandemic Influenza 1918/19–2018/19
SUPPLEMENT ARTICLES
Influenza Vaccines: Good, but We Can Do Better
Catharine I Paules; Anthony S Fauci FREE
Antibody Determinants of Influenza Immunity
James E Crowe, Jr
The Way Forward: Potentiating Protective Immunity to Novel and Pandemic Influenza Through Engagement of Memory CD4 T Cells
Andrea J Sant
Immunodominance and Antigenic Variation of Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin: Implications for Design of Universal Vaccine Immunogens
Seth J Zost; Nicholas C Wu; Scott E Hensley; Ian A Wilson
Dynamic Perspectives on the Search for a Universal Influenza Vaccine
Chadi M Saad-Roy; Adrian B McDermott; Bryan T Grenfell
Universal Influenza Vaccine Approaches Using Full-Length or Head-Only Hemagglutinin Proteins
Ted M Ross
Universal Influenza Virus Vaccines That Target the Conserved Hemagglutinin Stalk and Conserved Sites in the Head Domain
Florian Krammer; Peter Palese
The Role of Matrix Protein 2 Ectodomain in the Development of Universal Influenza Vaccines
Xavier Saelens OPEN ACCESS
Neuraminidase, the Forgotten Surface Antigen, Emerges as an Influenza Vaccine Target for Broadened Protection
Maryna C Eichelberger; Arnold S Monto FREE
How Live Attenuated Vaccines Can Inform the Development of Broadly Cross-Protective Influenza Vaccines
Rajeev Rudraraju; Francesca Mordant; Kanta Subbarao
A press release, published yesterday, from the N.I.H.
Scientists review influenza vaccine research progress and opportunities
What
In a new series of articles, experts in immunology, virology, epidemiology, and vaccine development detail efforts to improve seasonal influenza vaccines and ultimately develop a universal influenza vaccine. The 15 articles are part of a supplement in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and scientists supported by NIAID, are among the contributing authors. Barney S. Graham, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director of NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC), and Michelle C. Crank, M.D., head of the Translational Sciences Core in the VRC’s Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory, edited the supplement.
In an introductory article, NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. and Catharine I. Paules, M.D., an infectious disease physician at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, underscore the public health need for improved influenza vaccines, noting the approximately 291,000 to nearly 646,000 deaths worldwide each year due to seasonal influenza. They also discuss the possibility of another influenza pandemic, which occurs when a novel influenza virus to which most people do not have immunity arises unpredictably. The 1918 influenza pandemic caused an estimated 50 million to 100 million deaths.
The current seasonal influenza vaccine reduces influenza-related hospitalizations and deaths. However, people must get vaccinated annually due to constantly changing influenza viruses, and in some years, the vaccine confers less-than-optimal protection against infection. Drs. Fauci and Paules note that recent scientific advances, combined with scientists’ efforts to coordinate and accelerate their research activities, have provided unprecedented momentum toward developing a so-called “universal” influenza vaccine. Such a vaccine would offer long-term protection against multiple seasonal and pandemic influenza viruses.
The supplement articles detail ongoing research and what remains to be learned about influenza—such as how the human immune system responds to influenza infection and vaccination. Experts also discuss how such research might influence vaccine design approaches and help the public health community better prepare for the next influenza pandemic.
In closing remarks, Drs. Crank and Graham, along with John R. Mascola, M.D., VRC director, note, “Vaccinology is experiencing a revolution thanks to scientific and technological breakthroughs of the past decade, and hopefully we can find the resolve, political will, and new business plans to take full advantage of these new opportunities and prepare ourselves before the next pandemic arrives.”
(Continue . . . )
As we saw on Saturday (see C.I.D.: Influenza A Reinfection in Sequential Human Challenge) there remain considerable challenges in the creation of a `universal flu vaccine' - and having one available for the general public is likely still years away.
Even if successfully developed - manufacturing and deploying it in a timely manner during a pandemic would be a daunting task.
It is, however, a worthy goal, and if successful, could save millions of lives even from seasonal flu. And with sufficient uptake before the next pandemic, could significantly reduce mortality and morbidity.For more on the long road to developing a universal flu vaccine, you may wish to also revisit J.I.D.: NIAID's Strategic Plan To Develop A Universal Flu Vaccine.
