Researchers have developed an improved way to test potential vaccines against bird flu.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center have developed an improved way to test potential vaccines against bird flu. The report was published this week in the journalConcerning reports about avian flu outbreaks at poultry facilities across the country and abroad highlight the increasingly urgent need for a safe and effective vaccine that could thwart a possible spread of the virus from human to human.
Bird flu, caused by H5N1 influenza virus, is primarily spread by migratory wild birds and can decimate poultry populations, including chickens and ducks. Although the virus has infected people, previous infections have not spread efficiently from human to human. However, there are documented cases of H5N1 spreading in mammalian populations, ranging from minks to sea lions and dolphins, raising concern about human-to-human spread.
To ensure that a future vaccine will be protective, the researchers turned to macaques, which have close anatomy and physiology to humans, making them a choice model for the testing of life-saving medicines. While the researchers caution that their findings do not mean that a seasonal flu vaccine can efficiently protect against bird flu, they are optimistic that protective efficacy of future vaccines that target H5N1 can be tested using this model and deployed faster.
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