The Current flu vaccine contains the same virus strain since the spring of 2009. The virus extracted from a patient in California is the earliest form of the pandemic virus H1N1 or swine flu.
The very same reason, that The World Health Organization suggested drug makers create an updated virus for the flu vaccine. Prolonged used of a flu virus in the vaccines are normally similar to the present one.
Influenza epidemiologist of the British Columbia Center for Disease Control in Vancouver, Dr. Danuta Skowronski said that the “A/California had a good run” as an anti-virus.
Flu vaccines contain harmless viruses when exposed to the immune system it signals to release the particular antibodies to combat the disease. It then stores the information of the protective ammunition to fight future infection.
The H1N1 virus on the present flu vaccines latest evolution loses its efficiency on people ages 30 to middle age. These groups of people are not getting sufficient protection against the influenza family disease. Generally, healthy adults are subjects to have the best response to vaccines. However, for the past years that has not been the case for the H1N1 anti-virus component.
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Surprisingly, children and older adults develop positive antibodies response to H1N1 after vaccination.
The New Anti-Virus Component
The new virus to replace the H1N1 component has even a longer and peculiar name, the A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09. The new anti-virus defined as an influenza virus linked to the H1N1 family transpired in the 2009 pandemic. Scientist recovered the virus in the same year in California and confirmed to have links to the new virus discovered recently.
Flu experts worldwide who recently met in Geneva, advised WHO to use a different virus retrieved in 2015. WHO agreed with the flu experts. They recommended using a virus from the same family retrieved in 2015 from a patient in Michigan instead of A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09
Jacqueline Katz, the deputy director of the influenza division at the Centers for Disease control and Prevention in Atlanta believed this strain of virus will be more effective. It can better protect the group of people that was not getting enough benefit from the H1N1 virus. That can be done without compromising the efficiency for children and the elderly.
Usually, flu vaccines are made for “one-size-fits-all” but this time, a huge modification needs to be done. The scientist must formulate a change in the virus strain because of a setback of the vaccine within a specific group of people.
Dr. Danuta Skowronski discussed last week about the drawback of WHO strain’s selection committee will eventually need to tackle. He said, “We don’t make age-based vaccine strain decisions. So if the vaccine isn’t protecting well the non-elderly adults, but seems to function OK in the young, what do you do with that information?”
The decision to change the virus strain is even more significant. Since scientists are able to monitor closely the effectiveness and performance of the vaccines in different age group sector. They are more vigilant now on the after effects of the vaccines than in the previous years.
The H1N1 virus component worked out well since its discovery after the 2009 pandemic. But in 2013 it shows a decrease of efficiency in people aged 30 to middle age.
The problem with the current virus strain begins to emerge when CDC started blood testing. They performed the test from vaccinated people in different age group and saw a difference on antibodies responses.
Scott Hensley, an associate professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania said, “If you do that same experiment and instead of using ferret antibodies if you use antibodies from humans that actually received the 2009 vaccine, what you find is that there’s a significant number of [vaccinated] middle-aged people that … fail to react to the strain that’s actually circulating,”
Hensley believed that the sectors of people who have diminishing antibodies responses were born in 1960s 1970s and 1980s. Their body first exposed to the H1N1 virus circulated in 1977 until 1985. The 1977 virus strain is from the family disappeared when the new H1N1 started circulation in 2009.
They share a name but are different in so many aspects, it evolved so much that the immune system failed to recognize the new version. Hensley said although it evolved some of the aspects remains in the corresponding section of H1N1 viruses of the 1977 pandemic.
People whose immune system that got exposed to the first H1N1 virus would probably recognize the new virus. The current H1N1 vaccines acted like a booster shot for their antibodies.
However, in 2013 the early recognition of the new virus disappeared when the H1N1 virus changed dramatically losing a segment. Hensley believed it was a factor that the immunological profile lost its detection to deploy the right type of antibodies to fight against the H1N1.
Hensley considered updating the H1N1 component in the vaccine will solve the problem. He pointed out that WHO made the right decision in urging drug-makers to make proper changes.
In the Northern Hemisphere, flu season is about to start. There is a concern for contracting flu within this season. Last winter H1N1 was so active in most of the flu cases transpired but Katz said: “We had such a big H1N1 season last year I doubt we’ll have a very robust season this year”
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