Researchers believe they have created a model that could make the annual flu vaccine more effective.
Known as VaxSeer, the model was developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists, MIT News reported. VaxSeer uses artificial intelligence to predict what the dominant flu strains will be for the upcoming year, how those strains might evolve, and how well vaccines will perform against them.
Currently, global health experts use data to choose what flu strains should be included in the upcoming season's vaccine. But that decision has to be made months before flu season starts, and scientists believe their model could help take some of the guesswork out of that job.
"By modeling how viruses evolve and how vaccines interact with them, AI tools like VaxSeer could help health officials make better, faster decisions — and stay one step ahead in the race between infection and immunity," study author Wenxian Shi told MIT News.
To test the model, researchers saw what recommendations VaxSeer would have made over the past 10 years and compared them to the actual strains recommended for vaccines by the World Health Organization for two major flu variants.
For one strain, VaxSeer outperformed the WHO's recommendations in nine of 10 years. For the other strain, VaxSeer matched or bettered the WHO in six of 10 years.
The research team published their findings in the journal Nature Medicine.
Flu strains can have devastating impacts on local ecosystems. In particular, avian flu is not only deadly to birds but can also spread quickly. It also has the ability to infect a wide number of species.
A more effective vaccine also means fewer people visiting doctors' offices and hospitals to deal with flu symptoms. And given that the health care sector is responsible for roughly 5% of global planet-warming gas pollution, anything reducing its strain could also mean cleaner, cooler air.
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