Vaccine for Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Viruses

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Introduction: Influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are serious public health problems causing respiratory illness, with significant medical and economic burdens. Every year, around 15% of the world�s population is affected by seasonal influenza, resulting in 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and around 650,000 deaths. RSV infects more than 64 million infants and elderly with approximately 160,000 deaths annually worldwide. Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent these diseases. However, there is no available vaccine that prevents RSV infections, and the existing live attenuated influenza vaccines do not provide sufficient cross-protection against different strains. Since viruses undergo changes over time to evade the host immune system, frequent changes in the vaccine composition are necessary for to maintain effective immunity. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop effective and safe influenza and RSV vaccines that induce broad and long-lasting cross-protection. Technology: Georgia State University researchers have designed and developed a chimeric influenza virus vaccine containing RSV protective vaccine epitopes or conserved influenza epitopes. Along with the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) protein, this vaccine also incorporates immunogenic elements of the M2 protein, which was reported to offer cross-protection against lethal infection with different strains of influenza. Data have shown that this vaccine provides protection against RSV and influenza virus in mice. This unique live attenuated influenza vaccine that combines two major influenza proteins not only shows promise as a universal flu vaccine providing long-lasting immune protection but also as a safe and effective RSV vaccine vector.