title: A universal flu vaccine.
abstract: Influenza is a global health concern. The single most effective way of protecting people against influenza infection and disease is vaccination. However, currently available vaccines against influenza induce only strain-specific immunity, and do not elicit long-lasting serum antibody titers. Therefore, they are ineffective in the case of possible pandemics. There is an urgent need for a new generation vaccine which would induce broad and long-lasting immune protection against antigenically distinct flu viruses. The paper presents recent achievements and the challenges in the field of universal vaccine construction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biotechnology and Antibiotics, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kesik-Brodacka
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biotechnology and Antibiotics, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Grazyna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Plucienniczak
mesh_terms: D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D007252:Influenza Vaccines