Current vaccines against human influenza work by inducing antibodies to highly variable surface proteins of influenza, and have to be reformulated each year to take account of antigenic drift and shift. Information on the viruses to be included in the vaccine is only available a few months before the vaccine is required for use, so that manufacturers have a limited time to produce the vaccine, and if delays in the process occur there are shortages of vaccine for that year.

At the Jenner Institute we are working on an entirely different approach to ‘flu vaccination, based on T cell immunity to the highly conserved internal antigens of influenza.  We aim to generate a universal ‘flu vaccine suitable for use in all ages, providing protection against currently circulating seasonal influenza as well as avian subtypes that may in future gain the ability to transmit between humans and bring about a new pandemic. 

Clinical trials of Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara expressing conserved influenza antigens will begin in Oxford in 2008. The first trial will assess safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine at different doses.

Click here to view slides illustrating Dr Sarah Gilbert's work developing a flu vaccine

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