Influenza
Photo by M.T ElGassier Unsplashed
Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a respiratory (nose, throat, lung) infection caused by the influenza virus. There are many types of flu viruses.
Influenza viruses are always changing which is why children can have the flu more than once.
Influenza is very contagious and can spread when people who have it cough or sneeze. The virus can also live on surfaces that have been in contact with infected people.
Children are most likely to get the flu in winter.
When a child has influenza, they usually have a fever followed by symptoms such as a sore throat, runny nose, coughing, headache and muscle aches.
In many healthy children, influenza can be like a bad cold. However, in young infants and those with long-term medical conditions, the virus can cause more serious illness.
The influenza vaccine is the most effective way to reduce a child’s chance of contracting influenza.
Photo by M.T ElGassier Unsplashed
Who does it affect?
Who does it affect?
- Most children have had the flu by the time they are five.
- Children under five are at increased risk of contracting severe influenza infections that require hospitalisation.
- About two in 10 infants and children hospitalised with the flu need care in an intensive care unit (ICU) and some will die.
- Flu can be more serious in children with long-term medical conditions including heart and lung diseases. For those with asthma, it can trigger a severe asthma attack.
Our influenza research
Our influenza research
Little is understood about how the flu virus interacts with a child’s immune system and affects subsequent responses to an influenza vaccine. We know the virus can reprogram a child’s immune system for future flu exposure, but the impact varies depending on the strain. We’re examining how children’s immune systems respond to the flu, which can shape how people react to flu vaccines as adults. We hope our research will assist scientists to develop more effective flu vaccines.
Our Vaccine Uptake group is investigating barriers to flu vaccine uptake in children who are at higher risk due to medical conditions.
We have conducted research comparing coronavirus and influenza A in children and a study comparing children hospitalised with the flu or acute respiratory infections to estimate influenza vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation.
We turned liquid vaccination into an inhaled aerosol against the flu. This could become an alternative to needle vaccinations.
While studying co-infection with pneumococcus bacteria and viruses such as the flu, we found that sometimes the bacteria and virus help each other to cause disease but sometimes pneumococcus works against the virus. We are trying to isolate this anti-viral effect and develop a vaccine to protect against pneumococcal and viral infections.
Impacts of our research
Impacts of our research
- We found a cell-based influenza vaccine protects against the flu in children and adolescents. This is an alternative to traditional egg-based vaccines where flu viruses are grown in yolks of fertilised hens’ eggs. Cell-based vaccines are designed to produce an exact match to the flu strains selected by the World Health Organization (WHO) and could be more effective than standard vaccines.
- We worked on experiments and techniques to fight emerging drug-resistant flu strains. While certain anti-viral drugs can limit the spread and severity of the flu, their ineffectiveness against some strains could be problematic in pandemics, especially with new strains emerging from pigs and birds.
- We developed and tested a midwife intervention to improve uptake of influenza and whooping cough vaccines in pregnancy and childhood. The Australian-first antenatal vaccine communication model boosted midwife training, resources and discussions with patients, emphasising that vaccination while pregnant also protects the baby. Our study found maternal flu vaccine uptake nearly doubled to 82 per cent after the intervention and are working towards this package being routine for public antenatal settings.
- We do clinical trials of new vaccines and advise policy makers on the best use of vaccines in national immunisation schedules and pandemic flu preparedness and response.
Our vision
Our vision
We aim to learn more about how children’s immune systems respond to the flu so we can develop more effective influenza vaccines and hopefully reduce hospitalisations and deaths.
Where to next?
Where to next?
We plan to trial an mRNA influenza vaccine in children and improve communication and delivery methods to increase coverage.
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