The discovery of a new antibody could lead to a universal flu vaccine in as little as five years, according to a new study published in the journal Science.
So far tested successfully in lab animals, the new antibody – called FI6 – could end the need for a new flu vaccine to be created each season.
The antibody was found in plasma cells from human donors. When given to mice or ferrets with any one of the 16 subtypes of influenza A, it succeeded in treating what should have been a lethal dose of the virus.
"The antibody works not only by neutralizing the virus, which we knew, but also by recruiting killer cells to the virus-infected cells," lead researcher Antonio Lanzavecchia explained to Agence France-Presse.
"This suggests that once tested in a human system, the antibodies should work even better."
Now the researchers have started work on developing the antibody into a universal vaccine that could be used to protect against seasonal strains of the flu, and also hope find a way to trigger the body to create the universal antibody on its own.