New explanation for flu virus antigenic drift
Influenza viruses evade infection-fighting antibodies by constantly changing the shape of their major surface protein. that shape-shifting, called antigenic drift, is why influenza vaccineswhich are designed to elicit antibodies matched to each year’s circulating virus strainsmust be reformulated annually. Now, scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have proposed a new explanation for the evolutionary forces that drive antigenic drift. The findings in mice, using a strain of seasonal influenza virus first isolated in 1934, plus propose that antigenic drift might be slowed by increasing the number of children vaccinated against influenza……..
Original post by Heather Craven
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