Welcome to vnonline.co.uk

vnonline.co.uk provides the veterinary nursing profession with the latest news and industry developments, as well as events, resources, learning materials and careers.

Our website is dedicated to veterinary nurses and we strive to provide a platform where you can voice and explore your interests.

Not a member yet? Sign up for free!

Register for free with vnonline.co.uk to gain unlimited access to news, resources, jobs and much more!



Click here to become a member






Log in to vnonline

Forgot your password?

Posted: 7th July 2017

Study provides insights into cross-protective vaccines
The finding could lead to the design of improved cross-protective vaccines.
Findings could lead to improved vaccines for zoonotic diseases 

A collaborative study led by The Pirbright Institute has provided insights that could lead to the design of better vaccinations for animals and humans.

Swine flu, such as the H1N1 strain that was one of the strains that caused a pandemic in 2009, is an important pathogen in pig herds and can also be dangerous for humans.

Current vaccines are designed to protect against viruses of similar ancestry, so the control of infections where the virus may originate in a different species (i.e. birds) remains a challenge.

Previous research shows that pigs infected with avian-like H1N1 influenza lineage are able to induce complete protection against both the strain and the 2009 pandemic lineage. It also found that protection was conferred, despite the absence of cross-reactive antibodies - suggesting the involvement of cross-reactive T-cells.

To investigate this further, a team led by Dr Maria Montoya, a specialist in porcine immunology at Pirbright, together with researchers from Spain and Denmark, used two lineages of the H1N1 strain of flu responsible for the 2009 pandemic.

Writing in the Journal of General Virology, they describe how they created a pipeline process, which helped them to identify specific T-cell epitopes (the parts of a virus that the immune system responds to).

“Influenza epitopes are little studied in pigs and there were only a few previously defined. Identifying these T-cell epitopes is an important step towards helping us understand the role of T-cells better in influenza infection,” explained Dr Montoya.

“It could also lead to the design of improved cross-protective vaccines in the future for zoonotic viruses such as flu, with life-saving potential for humans and animals.” 



Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history



Latest news | Careers | Events | Resources | Contact us | Terms and conditions | Data Protection and Privacy |Cookie policy | About us | Copyright
© 2024 Vision Media, all rights reserved. vnonline.co.uk is not responsible for the content of external websites.