High-speed production of H5N1 vaccine

US scientists are using new methods to make enough bird flu vaccines in very short time. The goal is to be immune to all residents of this country within 4 weeks!

With a $ 1.6 million grant from the Government, virologist Suresh Mittal, Director of the Genetic Therapy Laboratory (Purdue University) is conducting the work.

A H5N1 vaccine is produced from the H5N1 strain in Vietnam

The new vaccine contains adenovirus - a virus that often causes respiratory infections in children and adults. However, this type of adenovirus has been modified so that they are harmless and contain some important gene fragments of avian influenza virus. When injected into the muscle, andenovirus releases harmless genes of influenza viruses, causing an immune response similar to the regular flu vaccine.

With the adenovirus method, pharmaceutical companies can produce enough bird flu vaccine for the entire country within a month.

It is now at least 6 months for the preparation of regular flu vaccines according to the method of using egg embryos

Mittal skipped chicken eggs and created new vaccines by cell culture. Therefore, a pharmaceutical company can mass produce vaccines in a short time. However, Mittal has not yet conducted clinical trials of the vaccine. This means that it is not until October 2006 that this vaccine is available for humans.

Meanwhile, President Bush has demanded the creation of an emergency fund worth $ 7.1 billion, primarily to accelerate the production of avian flu vaccines. There are currently two pharmaceutical companies producing vaccines against H5N1 in the United States. One type is being tested in humans. However, like the adenovirus vaccine, these are not ready for this year's flu season.

Minh Son (According to Science)