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A vaccine nose spray containing a bug that causes food poisoning might be more effective than injections at preventing flu.
The spray contains a flu vaccine mixed with the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterium, which can lead to severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting.
The addition of E.coli helps trigger a larger immune system response to the virus than existing flu jabs. Using this spray directly in the nose lining can prime the immune system to block the virus for up to six months, according to a study from researchers at the National Taiwan University Hospital.
By acting directly on the nose and throat, the spray encourages production of more antibodies at the point where the flu virus typically invades the human body, they said. Results of the trial, involving 350 patients, show the vaccine is safe and effective, triggering a greater immune response than a conventional flu vaccine.
The spray contains a flu vaccine mixed with the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterium, which can lead to severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting. The addition of E.coli helps trigger a larger immune system response to the virus than existing flu jabs
Flu causes a relatively mild illness in most people, but it can travel to the lower respiratory system, resulting in fatal pneumonia in severe cases — particularly among vulnerable groups, including people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions. More than 20,000 in the UK died from flu in 2017-18.
Flu vaccines are estimated to have prevented between 15 to 52 per cent of flu cases between 2015 and 2020. But effectiveness varies.
Flu jabs — usually made with inactivated viruses — trigger the production of antibodies.
Nasal spray versions, which avoid needles, contain live viruses
