‘Mutant flu’ could lead to more effective vaccine: study

MIAMI: Experiments in lab animals have shown signs of success for a newly engineered flu virus that may lead one day to a more effective vaccine, researchers said Thursday. Trials in humans are still a long way off, but the report in the US journal Science earned praise from experts who described it as a promising first step toward better prevention of the flu. The World Health Organization considers the flu a major public health concern because it infects up to five million people with severe illness each year and causes up to 650,000 deaths. “Because the variations of seasonal influenza viruses can be unpredictable, current vaccines may not provide effective protection against them,” said senior author Ren Sun, a professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).