US scientists found an antibody called CH65 that acts against 30 of 36 strains of influenza, according to a study published on 8 August 2011. The antibody, CH65, can stick to the surface part of the flu virus known as hemagglutinin which mutates every season.
CH65 was found in cells from a man who was given the flu vaccine for 2007. It shows that the human immune system can modify its response to the flu and actually produce antibodies that neutralise a whole series of strains.
The goal of the scientists is to understand how the immune system selects for antibodies and use that information to get better at making a vaccine.
