Influenza and Vaccines Flashcards
Flu symptoms
- fever or chills
- cough, sore throat
- rhinitis
- muscle aches
- tiredness
- V+D
Average incubation period of flu
48 hrs
Family of influenza virus
Orthomyxoviridae
2 envelope glycoproteins
- Haemaggluninin (17)
- neuraminidase (9)
3 other structural components of influenza virus
- nucleocapsid
- matrix
- membrane
Explain antigenic drift
a mechanism for variation in viruses that involves the accumulation of mutations within the genes that code for antibody-binding sites
What is used in the production of the influenza vaccine?
- embryonated chicken eggs
- partially purified and inactivated
Desrcibe the current influenza vaccine strategy
- northern hemisphere flu season = Nov-Mar
- mid-Feb, WHO decides on strains
- mid-March, strains provided to manufacturers
- Vaccines in clinics in Oct
Obstacles to manufacturing pandemic vaccines
- not sure which one to make
- probs with egg use
Current stopgap strategies
- novel vaccine formulation technology
- novel delivery technology (adjuvants)
What is original antigenic sin?
- propensity of the body’s immune system to preferentially utilize immunological memory based on a previous infection when a second slightly different version of that foreign entity (e.g. a virus or bacterium) is encountered. (can’t mount a response to second antigen)
Routes to influenza immunity
- HA antibodies (block fusion)
- NA antibodies (prevent release)
- M2 antibodies (interfere with assembly or proton transport)
- cell mediated immunity (peptide presentation)
Next-gen approaches to influenza vaccines
- recombinant proteins
- viruslike particles
- viral vectors
- DNA-based vaccines
- universal vaccines
Describe universal influenza vaccines
- “headless” HA
- antibodies go after a piece of HA that changes less often in strains