A group of UW-Madison researchers announced the discovery of a new peptide Wednesday that protects against influenza viruses, at a time when there is growing concern of a global flu pandemic, according to a University Communications statement.
The peptide effectively stops the influenza virus from entering cells by binding to a protein on the surface of the virus.
An analogy that might work is if you're reaching out with your hand to grab onto something like a railing or a doorknob, the peptide would block your hand from being able to grab the doorknob or the railing,"" said Curtis R. Brandt, co-author of the recently published study and UW-Madison professor of medical microbiology and immunology. ""The more drugs we have that block flu, the better chance we have of putting together a cocktail or mixture of them to block the virus and prevent the development of resistant strains.""
The drug was tested on infected mice and proved effective 100 percent of the time.
A new flu vaccine takes nine months to a year to make and distribute, and UW-Madison researchers are in the early stages of this process.
Current vaccines are not 100 percent effective, but are fairly protective against the viruses that are predicted to be circulating in any given year.
University Health Services Director Kathy Poi said UHS currently does not have an official pandemic flu plan.
""On the campus we really strongly have pushed [the vaccine] for students, so we make it available at no charge for them because we think students are a little bit at higher risk of getting influenza,"" Poi said. ""If influenza is in Madison, or arrives on the campus, the fact that students live in close quarters [and] they're in big classes, the likelihood of being exposed is certainly there.""
In an average year, according to Poi, UHS gives 5,000 to 6,000 free immunizations to students from mid-October through the end of the semester.
