December 2, 2005

US testing H5N1 bird flu vaccine for humans

Anthony S. Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced that a H5N1 bird flu vaccine for humans was being tested.

He said the patent medicine was based on samples taken from a Vietnamese patient who caught the disease in 2004.

While tests for the vaccine are still ongoing, it has reportedly been proven to have no harmful side effects on humans, and could stimulate an effective immune reaction against the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Recently, the World Health Organization warned that the bird flu virus was mutating and was already transferring to mammals.

The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has already claimed dozens of human lives in Asia since 2003.