Influenza virus is a RNA virus that can cause yearly epidemics worldwide. This virus has also been known to cause many pandemics in human history. This independent literature research will ask and answer the question: Why is influenza still a major public health issue and what steps can be taken to prevent future influenza pandemics? Influenza has been in the human population for over a hundred years with notable pandemics like the Spanish Flu of 1918 and the Swine Flu of 2009. These pandemics have been very deadly to the human population because influenza is highly pathogenic, easily transmissible, and many strains are new to the human population. New influenza strains are a result of mutations of its surface proteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). HA and NA can easily mutate inside of a host cell which can lead to new protein subtypes. Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent influenza infections. Current vaccines primarily target HA surface proteins and elicit small amounts of NA specific antibodies. Current vaccines account for known influenza strains and can protect against strains that are predicted to be most prominent in the human population that year. Future influenza strains are not accounted for due to the surface protein’s unpredictability. To prevent future influenza pandemics and to better protect the human population, a vaccine that can predict and be protective against most mutations is needed. A possible way to make this universal vaccine would be to target NA surface proteins instead of HA proteins. Antibodies produced by NA antigens can lead to a reduction in infection severity and duration, it can also lead to a long lasting immune response.
Author: Jo Lebrun, Microbiology
Advisor: Kelly Abshire, Microbiology
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