Llamas may hold the key to a long-lasting flu vaccine, research suggests. Laboratory tests showed a protein produced by the fluffy animals, as well as camels, fought off the virus in mice. Rodents were even protected against 60 strains of flu, which cause fever, headache and fatigue in humans, for more than nine months. Currently, flu jabs protect against a maximum of four strains - meaning people can still be struck down by strains that were not predicted to be active. The Belgian study has even raised hopes of a flu nasal spray, after the mice were equally protected when the vaccine was injected or inhaled.
