Creating Bird Flu Vaccine Using GM A Real Possibility

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Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS;  Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 03 Feb 2006 - 15:00 PDT

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Scientists from the CDC (USA) have managed to create a bird flu vaccine that protects mice by placing a gene from the H5N1 bird flu virus strain into a common cold virus. They then developed it in cell cultures rather than using hen's eggs.

You can read about this procedure in The Lancet.

Usually, vaccines are made by injecting an altered virus into fertilised hens' eggs (the virus is harmless). The problem with hens' eggs is that it takes so long to complete the whole process - at least six months. The aim of these scientists was to find a way of speeding up the process.

It is crucial that as soon as we know what kind of virus we may be dealing with during the looming flu pandemic that we create and produce a vaccine fast enough to protect people.

The CDC team used the H5N1 virus strain which appeared in Hong Kong in 1997. They then placed the haemugglutinin gene into a cold virus. The vaccine was then allowed to grow in human kidney cells.

The new vaccine was used on mice which were protected from the H5N1 virus strain.

The advantage this procedure has is speed.

Some experts have written to Medical News Today saying that this procedure may hold some promise if the flu pandemic does not hit within the next three to four years.

Experts no longer talk about whether there will be a flu pandemic, the talk now is about 'when'.

For the moment, bird flu spreads easily among birds, it does spread from bird to human, but not easily. Over the last three years over 100 million birds and 80 people have died as a result of bird flu infection.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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