Bird Flu Center

A vaccine to prevent and maybe even treat bird flu is one of the prime concerns of experts dealing with avian influenza. However the problem they are faced with is developing a drug for a virus which is not fully shaped yet. With highly pathogenic forms of the virus constantly mutating and creating new strains, it is hard to predict how the one which will affect humans and cause the pandemic will be like.

Scientists estimate the time needed to produce a valid vaccine from the moment the virus is correctly identified to be between 3 and 6 months. For the moment a handful of flu drugs have proven some efficiency in acting against the infection and their effects as possible vaccines are being studied. Simple influenza vaccines are recommended as they offer some form of protection against the disease, and in the predicted situation of a combination of genes between the bird specific virus and a human flu one, it will lessen the risk of contracting the most dangerous infection.

The virus believed to pose the most real threat is the H5N1 strain and predictions state this will cause the next flu pandemic. In August of 2005, a group of U.S. researchers announced some positive results on the first clinical trials of a vaccine developed to protect against the disease, but there is still a long way to go before a reliable vaccine will be made available.

The main aspects regarding a bird flu vaccine during a potential pandemic will be its efficiency and the ability of drug manufacturers to produce a sufficient supply for the population exposed. Currently, the global manufacturing capacity sits at 300 million doses of regular influenza vaccine per year. This figure will prove inadequate during a world outbreak of the illness and is unlikely to be augmented rapidly. Thus, it is important that the correct vaccine is produced once the pandemic starts and that seasonal influenza vaccines are left aside.

As is the case with the whole bird flu issue, development and production of a vaccine for the disease is a matter of global concern. The effort is made on an international level to prevent and potentially restrain a disease which knows no discrimination.

This article is based on information provided by the WHO and medical related websites on the internet.