Ground-breaking Perth research could help produce a universal flu vaccine that gives long-term protection against multiple strains in as little as two years.

The vastly improved vaccine could be given very early in life, before babies are exposed to flu viruses, and protect them for years, if not for ever.

As the only paediatric site for the global Human Vaccines Project — which is about to revolutionise how people are immunised — Perth will become home to a team of researchers led by Canadian infectious diseases expert Tobi Kollmann next year.

The work will be based at the Telethon Kids Institute and co-funded by the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation.

It is a major coup for Perth and could lead to major benefits for WA children and the economy.

During a visit to Perth this week, Professor Kollmann said vaccination was the single most important medical intervention in history.

But it had been difficult to find an effective, long-term vaccine against influenza — which kills more than 250,000 people world-wide each year — because the virus was constantly evolving.

Camera Icon Canadian vaccine expert Tobi Kollman is visiting Perth. He’s pictured with Health Minister Roger Cook and new parents Belinda and Trevor Harrison with baby Cody. Credit: Sharon Smith

“We know vaccines work but we don’t know how they work — which comes as a shock for most people — and that makes it more difficult to design vaccines for complex targets like flu,” Professor Kollmann said.

“The reason it is so difficult is because ‘the first flu is for ever’ which means that the first flu you are exposed to, either as an infection or vaccine, sets you on a path for ever.

“But if you can find a way to protect against most flu and you make sure a baby gets that vaccine, we will have achieved protection against all flu, or at least most flu, for ever.

“This seemed impossible two years ago, but with the work that we and others at the Human Vaccines Project, and now the Telethon Kids Institute are doing, this is going to come within reach within the next two to five years.

“This will be huge, and to put it in perspective this year is the 100th anniversary of the Spanish flu which killed more people than in both World Wars combined, so the impact is tremendous.”

Professor Kollmann said he had been attracted to WA by its can-do attitude and the willingness of people “to put their money where their mouth is”.

Health Minister Roger Cook said it was clear the modern facilities at PCH and the institute had helped Perth secure a place on the landmark project.

Institute director Professor Jonathan Carapetis said the work would put Perth on the research map at an unprecedented level, and apart from improving the health of WA children could have major economic and commercial benefits for the State.

It would unravel the immune systems of babies, helping treat a range of diseases.