New Bird Flu Vaccine
Thomas H. Maugh II reports in The Los Angeles Times about a new bird flu vaccine that in early trials appears to be highly effective. If further research confirms these results, this could be a breakthrough that greatly reduces the threat of a global avian flu pandemic.
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Pennsylvania researchers have produced a bird flu vaccine made from a genetically engineered human cold virus and shown that it protected 100 percent of vaccinated mice and chickens.
While production of a conventional flu vaccine requires months of work and large numbers of fertilized chicken eggs, the researchers reported Thursday that they prepared their vaccine in only 36 days, growing it in a laboratory dish.
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Studying the mice, the team found that the vaccine produced two types of immunity — antibodies that block the hemagglutinin and prevent it from binding to cells, and T-cells that attack the invading virus.
“This means that this recombinant vaccine can stimulate several lines of defense against the H5N1 virus, giving it greater therapeutic value,” said microbiologist Simon Barratt-Boyes of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and a member of the team.
“More importantly, it suggests that even if H5N1 mutates, the vaccine is still likely to be effective against it,” he said.