Catch a Cold, Stop a Pandemic
My cute headline hints at what this fascinating article in New Scientist has to say, which is that the virus that causes the common cold may help us produce a practical vaccine for H5N1 avian flu.
[tease]
Adenovirus, one cause of the common cold, may help protect against pandemic flu. Two separate groups of US scientists have successfully vaccinated mice and chickens with an adenovirus-based DNA vaccine against different strains of H5N1 bird flu. And they now want to test it in humans.
The teams used a crippled adenovirus, which cannot replicate, as a carrier for the gene for the main surface protein of H5N1, haemagglutinin (HA), to stimulate a powerful immune response in the animals.
Now go read the rest of the article before you eat your dessert.