March 2, 2009
Bird flu vaccine shows promise in test on mice
Mice infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu had a 100 percent survival rate after taking a modified vaccine once used to treat smallpox, Kyodo News reported, citing a Hong Kong University scientist Sunday (March 1).
The joint study on the vaccinia virus-based pandemic vaccine, published in the March 2 edition of the Journal of Immunology, is being conducted by HKU and the National Institute of Health in the United States.
"What we have shown is a novel strategy for vaccinating against H5N1," HKU microbiologist Malik Peiris told reporters.
The study found that using the vaccinia virus, which has a proven track record of eradicating smallpox 30 years ago, is safe and economical, and the vaccine production infrastructure is tested and requires low biosafety level technology, he said.
The new vaccine, called Wyeth/IL-15/5Flu, is composed of three main elements: a licensed vaccinia virus; human interleukin-15, a regulatory protein used to boost immune response; and five genes from H5N1, the most feared strain of bird flu that is responsible for killing humans and birds worldwide.
