How to speed up bird flu vaccine ?
May 6th, 2006
Scientists from all arround the world are racing to find a new fastest way to produce a vaccine that will protect people in case that a pandemic will stat in the near future.
They afirmed that if a pandemic will come next year or in 2 years they ar enot prepared for mass production of the vaccine because right now htey don;t have a succesufull vaccine.
An adequate supply of vaccine for the lethal H5N1 flu virus will not be available for years, experts from seven countries, 44 universities and 60 biotechnology companies agreed at a recent conference sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.
About 30 potential vaccines are being tested for safety and effectiveness in the United States and Europe, but the results have been disappointing, Stohr said.
The tests show that high doses of vaccine — and at least two shots — are needed to prevent infection, which means much greater quantities will be necessary, far more than can be produced by current technology.
There will be no breakthrough this year, Stohr said. “It will take six years to have enough vaccine for 20 percent of the world’s population. It may take eight to 10 years to solve the problem.”
Furthermore, the virus keeps changing, so a vaccine developed for one type of flu may not work against another variant. The H5N1 type that began in Asia already has split into two main branches.
“You can’t make cells divide any faster,” said Dr. Patrick Scannon, the chief scientist at Xoma Ltd., a biotechnology firm in Berkeley.
Researchers also are seeking novel methods to deliver vaccine to patients without the necessity of refrigeration and sterile needles, which can pose serious obstacles in many parts of the world.
“Theoretically, you could have a vaccine in a tomato,” said Alan Shaw, the president of VacInnate, a biotechnology company.
Eating the tomato would provide additional protection after the first inoculation, similar to a booster shot, he said.