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Vaccine against lethal strain of avian flu ready for human testing

Ian Sample, science correspondent
Monday July 10, 2006
The Guardian

A British drug company is seeking permission to conduct the first human trials of an experimental vaccine against the avian flu virus.
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Unlike conventional vaccines, which use weakened strains or fragments of the harmful virus, the test vaccine uses strands of DNA that can be made quickly and cheaply.
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Tests of a DNA vaccine designed to give protection against seasonal flu were published earlier this year and showed that it offered 100% protection, based on the immune response of volunteers.

So far, the DNA vaccine against avian flu has only been tested in animals, where it has also proved successful.

"Our tests have shown that it stops the infection entirely, to the point that we can't even measure the virus in the animals afterwards," said John Beadle, chief medical officer of the Oxford-based company PowderMed.

The company's research suggests humans would need two doses of the vaccine, a prime and a boost.
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If the trial goes ahead as planned, volunteers will be tested over several months to monitor how long the vaccine remains effective. Preliminary results are expected in January next year.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1816694,00.html
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Patterns in bird flu cases remain mystery
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
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Health Ministry spokeswoman Lili Sulistyowati said the government and scientists were still trying to figure out the mystery over the bird flu spread.

"We need thorough scientific research to explain why some people have a certain immunity against the virus and why others don't," she told The Jakarta Post.

The World Health Organization has confirmed that the H5N1 virus has mutated in one of the seven family clusters in Indonesia, but did not evolve into a more transmissible form.

However, what is not clear is why the virus infected only blood relatives but not spouses.
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The 2005 State of the Environment report confirmed the government slow's response to the H5N1 outbreak. It said the H5N1 outbreak among poultry had actually taken place in 2003, but the Agriculture Ministry only announced it on Jan. 25 last year.

A senior Agriculture Ministry official told the Post that the late announcement was due to prolonged debate between animal health experts in determining the virus genotype, in which some experts insisted that it was not H5N1 but Newcastle disease.

An official with the National Commission on Bird Flu said none of the research was able to show exactly how to stop the virus from spreading.

But the official, who asked not to be named, acknowledged that research carried out by an animal health expert with Airlangga University in Surabaya, Chairul A. Nidom, exposed credible information.

"Nidom had said that there were limited human-to-human transmissions, although many experts were against him at the time, but now some have admitted that he might be correct," he said.

Nidom's research in Japan last year showed that some of the viruses had a form that made human genes receptive to it, thus making them easy to transmit.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20060710.H07&irec=6

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Portugal beefs up measures against bird flu after outbreak in Spain

Portugal has stepped up its anti-bird flu measures to prevent the further spread of the virus after neighboring Spain detected its first H5N1 case in a wild bird.

On Friday, Spain reported its first case of H5N1 bird flu in a waterfowl outside the northern city of Vitoria.

Portuguese Agriculture Minister Jaime Silva said Saturday that his Spanish counterpart has briefed him about the case.

Silva said Portuguese health authorities has long had contingency plans in place after cases of the highly pathogenic bird flu were reported elsewhere in the world, but it was not time yet for Portugal to raise the alarm.

He added around 6,000 poultry and birds in Portugal have been tested so far this year and no highly pathogenic bird flu virus has been detected.

On Saturday, the Portuguese national veterinarian association decided to beef up measures against the strain, especially in poultry farms and markets selling wild birds as well as poultry products.

The chairman of the association said it was only a matter of time similar cases would be found in Portugal as well since the virus was already recorded in neighboring Spain.

Luiz Kosta, head of the country's national ornithology research institute, said the crested grebe detected with the H5N1 virus in Spain, also lives in Portugal, so experts would not rule out the possibility the crested grebes in Portugal also carry the virus.

Kosta stressed the need to quickly ascertain how the crested grebe was infected with the H5N1 virus.

http://english.people.com.cn/200607/10/eng20060710_281533.html
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Factoid: Past influenza pandemics have led to high levels of illness, death, social disruption and economic loss. There were 3 pandemics in the 20th century; the Spanish flu (1918-19), Asian flu (1957-58), and Hong Kong flu (1968-69). All of them spread worldwide within a year of being detected.

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23161
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Map: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12375868
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Migratory birds tested in Maine for avian flu
July 10, 2006

BANGOR, Maine --Hundreds of Canada geese and other migratory birds are being captured and tested by Maine state biologists for avian flu.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2006/07/10/migratory_birds_tested_in_maine_for_avian_flu/
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Bird flu will remain a threat for years to come, experts warn at UN special meeting
10 July 2006
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19141&Cr=bird&Cr1=flu
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Avian Influenza Still Expanding in Africa
Monday July 10, 10:32 am ET
Disease Widely Checked But Could Pose Threat for Years

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060710/dcm019.html?.v=53