Australian-led research makes flu vaccine discovery

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute in Melbourne have uncovered a new method of developing Influenza B vaccines offering promising targets for universal immunisation methods.

Transcript

00:00 I'm here at the Doherty Institute in Melbourne in the very lab where this breakthrough has

00:06 been made and with me is one of the key researchers who helped make that breakthrough, Professor

00:11 Catherine Kujerska.

00:13 Professor, it's obviously very hard to explain such a specific breakthrough in layman's terms,

00:19 but what have you discovered here in this lab?

00:23 In our study we identified parts of influenza B viruses that our immune system consistently

00:32 recognises and with this we provide new knowledge into the rational design of long-lasting influenza

00:38 vaccines.

00:39 I think that's the key thing, isn't it, here, long-lasting, which you don't often get with

00:43 the influenza vaccine, having to get it year after year.

00:45 There's been a lot of words thrown around about just how significant this breakthrough

00:49 is.

00:50 How significant would you describe it?

00:52 Well, we think our study is very significant because we identified those parts of the virus

00:59 that remained unchanged throughout the virus history and they also trigger very strong

01:05 T cell responses and we know that T cell responses predominantly recognise those unchanged, very

01:12 conserved parts of the virus and that's why it provides long-lasting immunity even when

01:18 the virus mutates and the new viral variants emerge.

01:22 And so ideally, obviously there's a lot of work yet to go before we get to something

01:25 like a universal flu vaccine, but what are the next steps from here and where do you

01:29 hope to end up?

01:31 So we really hope that those fragments from influenza B viruses can be included in a new

01:39 T cell vaccine that would obviously reduce the severity of infections and deaths, especially

01:45 in children and ameliorate the impact of annual influenza epidemics.

01:52 And speaking of annual influenza epidemics, we are right at the start of this year's flu

01:56 season here in Australia.

01:59 We saw last year one that was really particularly bad for children.

02:02 How are you feeling at the start and what's your message at the start of this season?

02:05 So it's really hard to predict how the influenza season will look like, but what's important,

02:11 it's really important to highlight that the current influenza vaccines are still the best

02:16 way to combat the annual epidemics and to get the annual vaccination to protect ourselves

02:22 and those at high risk of severe influenza disease.

02:27 Thank you so much for joining us here today as Professor Catherine Kujewska here at the

02:30 Doherty Institute in Melbourne.

02:32 A very topical discovery at the start of the flu season, but certainly a message there

02:36 that for now, the best thing you can do is get the jab each year.

02:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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