A recent study published in PLoS Pathogens found that vaccines developed from “classical H1N1 viruses (Sw/30 or NJ/76), 1918 virus-like particles, and a human H1N1 virus isolated in 1943 (Wei/43) protected against death from 2009 pandemic H1N1…” when tested in vivo in mice.
Another study finding was that the “H1N1 virus underwent little antigenic drift in pigs, as shown by the ability of the NJ/76 strain to induce protective immunity in mice against the 2009 H1N1 virus.” The fact that H1N1 influenza virus proteins are antigenically frozen in pigs, make them natural resorvoirs for future pandemics.
This research suggests that the much-maligned 1976 swine flu vaccination effort, which had an uptake of around 40 million Americans, may have conferred some protective effect on the population, in particular for persons aged 35 and up. This is one of the conclusions drawn from a review by Professor Ranaciello in Virology.
Excellent article and more detail via Of Mice and Men: H1N1 Immunity in the USA; Effects of H1N1 Vaccines Past and Present – influenza monitor.
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