H1N1 Flu Vaccine May Shield Against 1918 Strain

Message

   H1N1 Flu Vaccine May Shield Against 1918 Strain

Mouse studies suggest shot would do double duty, in unlikely event of older virus' return

WEDNESDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- The H1N1 influenza vaccine distributed in 2009 also appears to protect against the 1918 Spanish influenza virus killed more than 50 million people nearly a century ago, new research in mice reveals.
The finding stems from work funded by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, which examined the vaccine's efficacy in influenza protection among mice.
"While the reconstruction of the formerly extinct Spanish influenza virus was important in helping study other pandemic viruses, it raised some concerns about an accidental lab release or its use as a bioterrorist agent," study author Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, a professor of microbiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, said in a school news release. "Our research shows that the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine protects against the Spanish influenza virus, an important breakthrough in preventing another devastating pandemic like 1918."
Garcia-Sastre and his colleagues report their findings in the current issue of Nature Communications.
The authors worked with three groups of mice, injecting them with either the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, a seasonal influenza vaccine, or no vaccine.
Three weeks following vaccination, all the mice were exposed to a deadly dosage of the 1918 Spanish influenza virus. The researchers observed that only mice from the group that had been inoculated with the 2009 H1N1 vaccine were able to survive, although some from that group also succumbed to the Spanish influenza exposure.
In a second round of testing, Garcia-Sastre's team also injected mice with blood serum drawn from people who had been vaccinated against H1N1, and then exposed them to the Spanish influenza virus. In this way, the researchers found that antibodies present in human blood exposed to the H1N1 vaccine may also offer some protection against Spanish influenza.
"Considering the millions of people who have already been vaccinated against 2009 H1N1 influenza, cross-protection against the 1918 influenza virus may be widespread," said Garcia-Sastre. "Our research indicates that people who were exposed to the virus may also be protected. We look forward to conducting further research on the benefits of the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in protecting against the deadly 1918 Spanish influenza virus."
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/640173.html

Author	Message
Jen147 Forum Moderator Joined: August 28 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4499	Topic: H1N1 Vaccine May Shield Against 1918 Strain Posted: June 18 2010 at 12:32pm
	H1N1 Flu Vaccine May Shield Against 1918 Strain Mouse studies suggest shot would do double duty, in unlikely event of older virus' return WEDNESDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- The H1N1 influenza vaccine distributed in 2009 also appears to protect against the 1918 Spanish influenza virus killed more than 50 million people nearly a century ago, new research in mice reveals. The finding stems from work funded by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, which examined the vaccine's efficacy in influenza protection among mice. "While the reconstruction of the formerly extinct Spanish influenza virus was important in helping study other pandemic viruses, it raised some concerns about an accidental lab release or its use as a bioterrorist agent," study author Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, a professor of microbiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, said in a school news release. "Our research shows that the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine protects against the Spanish influenza virus, an important breakthrough in preventing another devastating pandemic like 1918." Garcia-Sastre and his colleagues report their findings in the current issue of Nature Communications. The authors worked with three groups of mice, injecting them with either the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, a seasonal influenza vaccine, or no vaccine. Three weeks following vaccination, all the mice were exposed to a deadly dosage of the 1918 Spanish influenza virus. The researchers observed that only mice from the group that had been inoculated with the 2009 H1N1 vaccine were able to survive, although some from that group also succumbed to the Spanish influenza exposure. In a second round of testing, Garcia-Sastre's team also injected mice with blood serum drawn from people who had been vaccinated against H1N1, and then exposed them to the Spanish influenza virus. In this way, the researchers found that antibodies present in human blood exposed to the H1N1 vaccine may also offer some protection against Spanish influenza. "Considering the millions of people who have already been vaccinated against 2009 H1N1 influenza, cross-protection against the 1918 influenza virus may be widespread," said Garcia-Sastre. "Our research indicates that people who were exposed to the virus may also be protected. We look forward to conducting further research on the benefits of the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in protecting against the deadly 1918 Spanish influenza virus." http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/640173.html
	TN
	IP Logged

Jen147 Forum Moderator Joined: August 28 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4499	Posted: June 18 2010 at 12:34pm
	Swine flu shot protects against 1918 flu: study Wed Jun 16, 2010 (Reuters) - People who got vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu virus may also be protected against the strain of influenza that killed 50 million to 100 million people in 1918, researchers reported on Tuesday. Tests on mice showed the vaccine for the still-circulating strain of H1N1 protected against the older virus, a distant cousin also called H1N1, the team at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York said. No one fears the 1918 flu will come back naturally but there are worries that someone might try to resurrect or recreate it for a biological attack. The study, published in Nature Communications, also shows the vaccine has cross-protection against related flu strains. The old virus was reconstructed by scientists using samples dug up from the frozen bodies of victims in Alaska and using genetic sequences from preserved samples. "While the reconstruction of the formerly extinct Spanish influenza virus was important in helping study other pandemic viruses, it raised some concerns about an accidental lab release or its use as a bioterrorist agent," said Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, who led the study. "Our research shows that the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine protects against the Spanish influenza virus, an important breakthrough in preventing another devastating pandemic like 1918." The researchers gave mice either the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, the seasonal H3N2 flu vaccine or no vaccine at all. After 21 days, the mice were exposed to a deadly dose of the 1918 Spanish influenza virus. The mice vaccinated against H1N1 swine flu lived. About 80 percent of mice vaccinated with a seasonal flu vaccine designed to protect against a 2007 strain of H1N1 lived when infected with the 1918 flu, the study found. All of the mice that were given the H3N2 vaccine or not vaccinated died when infected with the 1918 flu. Current flu vaccines are a mixture of the three most common strains of virus circulating. The formula is changed slightly every year as flu viruses mutate. For instance, this coming flu season the H1N1 component will be replaced with the pandemic swine flu strain. There is evidence people who get seasonal flu vaccines are protected to some degree against future flu strains. This study showed they also can be protected against a past strain. It also suggested 2009 H1N1 is more closely related to the old pandemic strain than to more modern H1N1 strains, which have had decades to mutate and change. The swine flu strain came from pigs and is a mixture of several influenza viruses, genetic tests have shown. "Considering the millions of people who have already been vaccinated against 2009 H1N1 influenza, cross-protection against the 1918 influenza virus may be widespread. Our research indicates that people who were exposed to the virus may also be protected," Garcia-Sastre said. Dozens of companies make flu vaccines, including Sanofi Aventis, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Baxter and others. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65E65S20100616
	TN
	IP Logged

	Active Topics Memberlist Calendar Search Help	Click here for the current WHO Alert Level.
	Register Login