Every year, 10 percent to 20 percent of Americans get sick with the flu (influenza).  In the United States, approximately 25 percent of the population has flu-associated illness annually, leading to an average of 20,000 to 40,000 deaths per year.   The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 35 to 50 million Americans come down with the flu during each flu season, which typically lasts from November to March. 

We have generated prototypes of Hsp fusion proteins with influenza antigens. These have shown activity in preclinical models that suggests their potential utility as a treatment for common and avian flu.  In mice, these fusions have been shown to elicit killer T cells that recognize appropriate influenza antigens, suggesting that such killer T cells would be capable of eradicating influenza-infected cells. This type of killer T cell has also been shown to produce the cytokine interferon gamma, which is known to have anti-viral activity.  We believe that we could construct new Hsp-Influenza fusion proteins that would have the ability to combat avian as well as common influenza.