Bird flu vaccine?

[Guest guest]

http://microbes.otago.ac.nz/dept/news/news-webby.html

 

Otago graduates help create flu vaccine- Joanna Norris

Otago Daily Times

 

 

Bird flu vaccine developed

 

11-April 2003 - " A team of researchers - led by Dr Richard Webby, who

graduated from Otago in 1999, and a colleague, both based at St Jude

Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, America - has rapidly

developed a vaccine for a deadly Hong Kong bird virus and human killer. "

 

" Using samples of the influenza from Hong Kong, they mixed two genes

from the virus with six genes from another virus inside a cell. This

modified the virus genes to " abolish its ability to cause disease and

therefore made it safer to use as a vaccine " , the statement said. The

virus has been sent to Atlanta and London for testing in preparation

for human trials. "

 

 

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994670

 

 

Genetic analysis probes bird flu's history - New scientist

 

 

OOPS! : Vaccine helps to mutate Bird flu?

 

11 February 04 - ... " In 2003, scientists who developed an improved flu

vaccine for poultry, including Robert Webster of St Jude's, concluded

that such vaccination " may be a serious problem for human pandemic

preparedness " (Virology, vol 314, p 580).

 

Such vaccines, they wrote, might mask disease signs while allowing the

birds to continue to shed virus. In such a case, " persistence of virus

infection in the presence of a flock immunity may contribute to

increased virus evolution " .