An influenza vaccine that protects against death and serious complications from different strains of 'flu is a little closer to reality, vaccine researchers at Saint Louis University, USA have found. Currently drug companies manufacture a different flu vaccine each year to match the strains of influenza that researchers predict will circulate. Adding a universal influenza vaccine to a seasonal vaccine would help improve protection against strains of influenza as they change each year.
A team lead by Dr Robert Belshe studied a vaccine made with proteins from strains of influenza viruses A and B. In the study, 377 healthy adults received three injections of a universal influenza vaccine, known as Bivalent Influenza Peptide Conjugate  Vaccine (BIPCV), over a six month period. The team found that a low dose of the vaccine is well tolerated and safe. In addition, the low dose vaccine evoked a marked immune response with high antibody titres. More testing is needed, however.

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