An Italian vaccine

Italy have done well against the swine flu, and the country is ready to research a new universal vaccine against all the flu viruses. Yesterday the Deputy Minister of Health Ferruccio Fazio talked about the pandemic in Italy. Fazio said also that one of the goals of the Istituto Superiore della Sanità is the universal vaccine, active against all the influenza viruses. The target of the research will be the hemagglutinin, "the primary protein responsible for binding to receptor sites on the cell membrane, allowing the virion to enter the cell" (some weeks ago New Scientist published an article about this issue). Professor Fazio said also that Italy has spent for the vaccine campaign less money than other European countries, obtaining better results. However, it's too soon to draw conclusions: the number of cases is decreasing, and so the number of deaths, but the pandemic hasn't stopped yet, said Professor Fazio. In order to end  it it's important to continue the vaccination plan, he said. In Italy there's an high incidence only in Sardinia right now.