Kotey, E.; Lukosaityte, D.; Quaye, O.; Ampofo, W.; Awandare, G.; Iqbal, M. Current and Novel Approaches in Influenza Management. Vaccines2019, 7, 53.
Kotey, E.; Lukosaityte, D.; Quaye, O.; Ampofo, W.; Awandare, G.; Iqbal, M. Current and Novel Approaches in Influenza Management. Vaccines 2019, 7, 53.
Kotey, E.; Lukosaityte, D.; Quaye, O.; Ampofo, W.; Awandare, G.; Iqbal, M. Current and Novel Approaches in Influenza Management. Vaccines2019, 7, 53.
Kotey, E.; Lukosaityte, D.; Quaye, O.; Ampofo, W.; Awandare, G.; Iqbal, M. Current and Novel Approaches in Influenza Management. Vaccines 2019, 7, 53.
Abstract
Influenza is a disease that poses a significant health burden worldwide. Vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza virus infections. However, conventional vaccines are only effective for a short period of time due to the propensity of influenza viruses to undergo antigenic drift and antigenic shift. The efficacy of these vaccines is uncertain from year-to-year due to potential mismatching between the circulating viruses and vaccine strains, mutations arising due to egg adaptation, and potential contamination of the vaccine virus stock. Subsequently, the inability to store these vaccines long-term and vaccine shortages are challenges that need to be overcome. Conventional vaccines are also less effective for certain populations, including the young, old, and immunocompromised. This warrants for diverse efficacious vaccine developmental approaches, involving both active and passive immunization. As opposed to active immunization platforms (requiring the use of whole or portions of pathogens as vaccines), the rapidly developing passive immunization involves administration of either pathogen-specific or broadly acting antibodies against a kind or class of pathogens as a prophylactic treatment to corresponding acute infection. Several antibodies with broadly acting capacities have been discovered that may serve as means to suppress influenza viral infection and allow the process of natural immunity to engage opsonized pathogens whilst boosting immune system by antibody-dependent mechanisms that bridge the innate and adaptive arms. By that, passive immunotherapeutics approach assumes a robust tool that could aid control of influenza viruses. In this review, we comment on some improvements in influenza management and promising vaccine development platforms, with emphasis on the capacity of passive immunotherapeutics especially when coupled with the use of antivirals in the management of influenza infection.
Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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