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Small genetic changes that accumulate over time force flu vaccines to be updated regularly.

Findings

Additional insights we found via Vaccine Makers Project

  1. Microbiologist Maurice Hilleman uncovered new insights into influenza virus by studying strains at different points in its history, allowing him to scrutinize how it changed over time.

  2. Flu viruses change as they replicate through a process called antigenic drift. They accumulate small changes in their genetic code that can lead to changes in the surface proteins of the virus, HA (hemagglutinin) and NA (neuraminidase). These mutations alter the "keys" on their surface over time, allowing them to evade the immune system more effectively as their changes accumulate.

  3. These gradual changes alter the virus enough that immunity fades, making updated vaccines necessary each flu season.

  4. A flu virus that readily infects birds lacks the cellular "keys" to infect human cells, but once it has adapted enough through antigenic drift to infect pigs, it can more easily infect similar human cells.

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