Nebraska vaccine protects mice and cattle
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers said April 27 their H5N1 vaccine strategy protected mice and dairy calves in early animal studies. - The regimen used intramuscular shots plus intranasal doses; vaccinated mice survived lethal H5N1 challenge, and calves showed strong immune responses after boosters. - The work arrives with no licensed H5N1 cattle vaccine and continued U.S. dairy-cattle spread. (news.unl.edu)
Bird flu is an influenza virus that usually moves through birds, but the H5N1 strain jumped into U.S. dairy cattle in 2024. Nebraska researchers now say a new vaccine approach protected mice and dairy calves in early tests. (news.unl.edu) (cdc.gov) The work comes from University of Nebraska–Lincoln virologist Eric Weaver and postdoctoral fellows Joshua Wiggins and Adthakorn Madapong. Their paper, published April 21 in *npj Vaccines*, tested a two-route H5N1 vaccine in mice and bovine models. (nature.com) (news.unl.edu) Vaccines delivered into muscle mainly build bodywide defenses, while vaccines delivered through the nose aim to block infection where a respiratory virus first lands. The Nebraska team combined both, using a prime-boost regimen with serotype-switched adenoviral vectors. (nature.com) The researchers said vaccinated mice were fully protected against lethal infection from multiple H5N1 strains, including a 2024 bovine isolate from Ohio. In calves, the shots produced strong antibody and cellular immune responses that tracked with the mouse results. (nature.com) The calves were vaccinated at 1 week old and got a booster 4 weeks later. Weaver said the intramuscular dose was meant to limit spread inside the body, while the intranasal dose was meant to limit spread from animal to animal. (news.unl.edu) (phys.org) The paper frames the problem as both agricultural and public-health protection. Since 2022, H5N1 outbreaks have led to the culling of more than 166 million commercial poultry birds in the United States, and the virus later turned up in dairy herds and infected farm workers. (news.unl.edu) (cdc.gov) Federal agencies still describe the public-health risk as low, but they say H5N1 remains present in U.S. dairy cattle and poultry. The Nebraska team said there is currently no licensed H5N1 vaccine for cattle. (cdc.gov) (phys.org) Weaver said he began working on this line of research in 2005 and revived it when the cattle outbreak did not fade. He is now seeking funding and partners for broader evaluation, including a possible multispecies version. (news.unl.edu) The next step is not a rollout but more testing. For now, the Nebraska result is a preclinical sign that one vaccine platform may be able to protect livestock against multiple H5N1 strains. (nature.com)
