Researchers develop bird flu vaccine that could protect against multiple strains

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By Olivia Bowthorpe

An experimental vaccine appears to protect animals against several different strains of bird flu, potentially offering broader protection against future pandemics, a study suggests.

The mRNA vaccine targets multiple proteins from influenza A H5 viruses rather than relying on a single strain.

Designed to anticipate viral evolution rather than react to it, this approach to vaccines is a “game-changer” allowing faster response to epidemics and pandemics, researchers said.

Jonathan Heeney, professor of research in vaccinology at the University of Cambridge, said: “Rather than providing immunity to a single variant of bird flu, our new broad-spectrum vaccine is protective against a huge range of variants."

The H5 influenza viruses continue to diversify and spread among birds and mammals, occasionally infecting humans.

Different genetic groups of the viruses can vary widely, making it difficult to predict which strains might pose the greatest threat and creating "unpredictable pandemic risk", the researchers said in Cell Reports Medicine.