Preparing for change 

With the world facing outbreaks of Ebola and Zika, the winter flu may not seem to be our biggest challenge, but with around 5-15% of the global population infected every year, it’s a key priority for public health. 

At some point in your life you’ve probably experienced the flu and been struck down with a sudden fever, aching and tiredness. For most of us, after a week’s rest these symptoms disappear and we’re able to get back to our normal daily life. But for some, these simple symptoms can develop into something more serious and the common flu can fast become deadly.

Our main defence against the flu are vaccines, which help our bodies to prepare for attack from the Influenza virus. They work by introducing non-infectious forms of the flu virus into the body that trigger the production of special proteins, known as antibodies. Antibodies recognise molecules on the surface of the virus and target it for destruction. Our bodies then remember these antibodies, so that when you’re really exposed to the virus, they can be produced again to fight it. 

But unlike most other viruses’ influenza is unpredictable, changing its coat from season to season. This means that the vaccine you have one year, might not work for the next season’s virus so people who might be more susceptible are encouraged to have an annual flu jab.

Knowing how the flu virus is changing and being able to produce vaccines to respond to this is vital to protect us each Winter. So scientists across the world, including those at NIBSC, work tirelessly all year round to monitor changes to the virus and produce reagents to support the development of each new vaccine.  

"We help to protect the global population from flu, working with WHO to decide which strains need to go into each vaccine and providing manufacturers with the tools they need to produce new vaccines when they are needed.’   

XX, Principal Scientist at the Influenza Resource Centre at NIBSC

A worldwide effort 

Influenza is seasonal with viruses most often circulating during the winter.  From a global perspective it occurs all year round, moving from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere as the seasons progress.

The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) was set up in 1952, by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help the world prepare for impending influenza threats. Made up of over 114 laboratories worldwide monitor changes in the flu virus over time and decide when new vaccines need to be made.  

All year long flu virus samples are collected from infected patients across the world. The samples are sent to specialised labs known as WHO collaborating centres. Here scientists carefully analyse the types of viruses that are circulating around the world.  

These laboratories meet twice a year to share their findings and decide if the current vaccine will protect us against these circulating viruses or if a new one is needed. If we need a new vaccine, the group will select virus strains for the new vaccine and six months of hard work begin to prepare the strains and reagents required to produce enough vaccine in time for the next season.  

As one of four WHO Essential Regulatory Laboratories worldwide, and the only one in Europe, NIBSC play a vital role in ensuring that manufacturers have the tools they need to develop new flu vaccines.  One of their jobs is to make new versions of the selected flu viruses known as candidate vaccine viruses. These are made by process called genetic re-assortment, which involves swapping parts of the genetic material of two viruses .  mixing the chosen natural or ‘wild-type’ flu viruses, with another type of virus that grows well in the lab to create new viruses with properties from both. Unlike wild-type flu viruses, these adapted viruses are much better suited to making the large amounts of virus required for vaccine production

However, creating a new virus with exactly the right properties can take some time so our researchers are working hard to uncover ways of improving this method to produce better CVVs, more quickly.

Find out more about our flu research

Armed with the correct recipe and tools, manufacturers can then begin to produce big quantities of the latest vaccine in time for the upcoming flu season. So that these vaccines can be made available to those individuals that might need a bit of extra help in fighting off flu. 

Looking to the future

Developing a new vaccine in response to changes in the flu virus can be a consuming and costly process. It also depends on scientists predicting what virus will be most common in 6 months’ time, which doesn’t always go exactly to plan. If the experts get it slightly wrong, this can have disastrous consequences for the global flu effort as people might receive a less effective vaccine. So, what’s the solution?

Researchers are looking towards developing broadly reactive flu vaccines, that would aim to work against multiple strains of influenza virus and potentially offer longer-lasting production.  Instead of targeting proteins on the surface of the virus, these vaccines instead focus on proteins that lie deeper within the virus that are less prone to changing over time.

"Developing a broadly reactive vaccine could transform the way we prepare for and treat influenza. It would hopefully reduce the need for yearly flu vaccines and also relieve pressure on WHO laboratories and manufacturers to monitor and update the vaccine each season"

XX, Principal Scientist at the Influenza Resource Centre at NIBSC

NIBSC are currently involved in two EU-funded consortia aimed at developing a ‘universal’ vaccine. The first, EDUcate inFLUenza vACcine (EDUFLUVAC), looks to use a combinatorial immunisation strategy to educate the immune system to cross-recognise common regions within multiple influenza viruses in the hope of offering better protection against several strains.

The other project – Universal Influenza Vaccines Secured (UNISEC) – brings together many different universal influenza vaccine concepts into one clinical study, allowing scientists to compare and test candidates against each other so only the most promising leads are taken forwards into clinical trials.[MS1] 

With these projects it’s hoped that in the future the days of annual Influenza vaccines will be long gone. But until then the instrumental work of this key group of scientists continue to protect lives worldwide by arming us for our yearly flu battle.