Imagine the convenience of a universal flu vaccine that can be delivered by a simple nasal spray – well, researchers at the University of Adelaide are supposedly getting closer to making this a reality!

The February edition of the Journal of General Virology features the results of a successful testing of a synthetic flu vaccine - in mice – by Dr Darren Miller and his colleagues at the university.

Commenting on the current flu vaccines, which chiefly rely on the ability of the health authorities to predict the intensity of a forthcoming viral strain and reformulate the vaccines annually, Dr Miller told the Australian Associated Press: “This is extremely time consuming, labour-intensive and expensive and it's something that a universal vaccine could overcome.”

In the opinion of the researchers, since a simple and fully synthetic universal vaccine is not derived from an influenza virus, it does need any reformulation by the health authorities every year.

As such, it will have notable advantages in health clinics, in terms of control as well as prevention of the spread of flu.

What’s more, people scared of needles can finally heave a sigh of relief! Miller and colleagues believe that a nasal spray will apparently have more benefits vis-à-vis the injections as it would provide a non-invasive delivery.

And to top it all, a universal vaccine will also eliminate the need for people to get re-vaccinated every year!