Bird Flu Vaccine Protects Ferrets

In a US based lab, a vaccine has been created that has been shown to protect ferrets against several strains of the H5N1 avian influenza, which offers us the possibility of making a vaccine to protect humans before any sign of a pandemic.

It might be tricky to test in humans, but it has shown that the animals were protected even though they did not show the usual antibody response.

The findings suggest it may be possible to stockpile a vaccine ahead of a pandemic of H5N1 influenza, the researchers report in this week's issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, something that experts believed was not possible.

"Possibly the greatest significance of Govorkova et al.'s study is the demonstration of a significant cross-strain protective effect even in the presence of minimal antibody levels," Alan Hampson of the Australian Influenza Specialist Group at Australia's Monash University wrote in a commentary.

With the H5N1 avian flu outbreaks showing up in more than fourty-eight countries and territories, getting a vaccine together could be the key to saving millions of people. The virus has already killed 128 people in nine countries and infected at least 225.

Reuters

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Bird Flu Vaccine Protects Ferrets

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