Influenza season is ramping up, SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continue to evolve, and the bird flu outbreak is gaining steam in the United States.
Against the ever-changing landscape of infectious disease, this episode of Health Science Radio (HSR) delves into viruses and vaccines. While a monoclonal antibody for newborns raises hope for a less-severe RSV season, various influenza strains and SARS-CoV-2 pose their usual risk to public health. And alarmingly, over 50 cases of bird flu have been confirmed in the United States so far this year – the majority being in dairy farm workers and those culling infected chickens at poultry farms, including 10 cases in Colorado.
“As a person studying flu, that is very concerning, and I think we really need to keep a close eye on what is going on with the H5N1 outbreak,” said HSR guest Jenna Guthmiller, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Guthmiller shares some of the latest research into how our immunity against rapidly evolving pathogens develops and can be targeted by next-generation vaccines.
Her lab is studying the potential for a universal vaccine that could provide protection against influenza strains that mutate over time, as well as novel viruses that pop up and threaten to instigate pandemics.
“If it’s one shot that provides protection against everything, that would be the ideal situation,” Guthmiller said. “By generating a universal vaccine, you could potentially get in front of everything well in advance, even the stuff that you have no idea what it is.”
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