Influenza Vaccine - Computer-assisted Vaccine Design

Computer-assisted Vaccine Design

A new parameter has been defined to quantify the antigenic distance between two H3N2 influenza strains. This parameter was used to measure antigenic distance between circulating H3N2 strains and the closest vaccine component of the influenza vaccine. For the data between 1971 and 2004, the measure of antigenic distance correlated better with efficacy in humans of the H3N2 influenza A annual vaccine than did current measures of antigenic distance such as phylogenetic sequence analysis or ferret antisera inhibition assays. This measure of antigenic distance could be used to guide the design of the annual flu vaccine. The antigenic distance combined with a multiple-strain avian influenza transmission model was used to study the threat of simultaneous introduction of multiple avian influenza strains. Population at Risk (PaR) can be used to quantify the risk of a flu pandemic and to calculate the improvement that a multiple vaccine offers.