Producing a vaccine for influenza is a tricky business.  Global trends must be analyzed, three separate strains of the flu virus must be chosen, and enough vaccine prepared months in advance of flu season in order to have ample supplies in stock and distributed nationwide.  Even then, there’s no guarantee the strains used to produce the vaccine will be the actual strains that spread illness during any given year.

Now, however, researchers in Japan have announced a breakthrough that may put them one step closer to developing a universal flu vaccine.  Such a vaccine would protect against illness from the influenza virus regardless of which strain is actually flourishing during any given flu season.

Today’s flu vaccines target proteins on the outer surface of the virus, where mutations in the protein’s shape occur often and quickly.  These mutations are one reason the vaccine and the virus actually wreaking havoc are not always a match.

The Japanese researchers looked inside the virus instead of outside it to find proteins that aren’t likely to mutate the way those on the outside do.  The research team targeted three strains of the influenza virus for their study – the H5N1 bird flu, Hong Kong A, and Soviet A strains.

A commercially available universal flu vaccine is still years away as the research continues.  Before coming to market, it must be tested on human subjects, too.  Thus far, the universal vaccine has been tested on animals only.

In the meantime, health officials say annual vaccinations are still recommended and should be administered to everyone in a high-risk group.  Even when a vaccinated person gets the flu, symptoms are likely to be milder than if not vaccinated and the illness probably won’t last as long.

The Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry directed the research on the universal flu vaccine, with teams from its National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Saitama Medical University, and the chemical company, NOF Corporation, participating.