Harmless Virus May Aid In Knocking Out Deadly Bird Flu

[NJCher]

Harmless Virus May Aid In Knocking Out Deadly Bird Flu
19 Sep 2005

A harmless virus used as a delivery vehicle may help set a roadblock for a potentially catastrophic human outbreak of bird flu, according to researchers at Purdue University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Purdue molecular virologist Suresh Mittal and his collaborators are investigating a new way to provide immunity against avian influenza viruses, or bird flu, the most lethal of which, H5N1, has a 50 percent fatality rate in humans. Under a $1.6 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the researchers are focusing on using a harmless virus, called adenovirus, as a transmitting agent for a vaccine to fight off highly virulent strains of the avian influenza viruses.

Current vaccines are designed for strains of flu found in local areas and are effective only as long as the virus doesn't change form. Existing vaccines will have limited success against new strains of avian influenza, he said. Every time a bird flu mutates, vaccines must be redesigned.

An additional important advantage to using an adenovirus as a vector, or transporter of vaccine into cells, is that is could be mass produced much more quickly than with current methods.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=30832





Cher

[Maple]

1. This is good news

Why aren't there most posts about it?

[toddaa]

3. Because the sky isn't falling

DUers are glass half empty folks. :evilgrin:

[Maple]

4. True!

and some days they mostly seem to be 'glass half empty' folks, with no optimism at all! :D

[mojavekid]

2. Sounds very promising,

One of the scarier aspects relating to a potential Avian Flu epidemic is the laboriously slow production time for a vaccine.

Also seems to have other beneficial applications.

[Mabel Dodge]

5. Hey I'm happy about this!

I just as soon the sky stay right where it is!
:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:
:party::toast::bounce:

[Waistdeep]

6. Don't get too excited

Rather than LBN, this is from a university press release describing the nature of some research and the ultimate goals of that research. It's well written, and the research sounds interesting, but it's not publicising a breakthrough and certainly not implying that anything will come of it in the near term.

Still, I'm encouraged to hear of work like this, but it's far from being important in the near term.

[kestrel91316]

7. This is actually very cool. We use canarypox-vectored genetically

engineered Feline Leukemia and Rabies vaccines at my cat hospital. They are a major improvement from both a safety and effectiveness standpoint. I normally am fairly anti-genetic engineering, but I feel the technology was put to good use in this case.

Adenovirus-vectored Avian Influenza vaccine could be just the ticket. Time and research will tell.