Vaccine Effective Against Avian Flu

FiReaNGeL writes "Researchers announced they have genetically engineered an avian flu vaccine from the critical components of the deadly H5N1 virus that completely protected mice and chickens from infection. This virus has thus far killed 80 people, devastated bird populations in Southeast Asia and Europe and caused for billions in damage through the world." Here's hoping it works on us, too.

Comments

Virus Fund, let's do it.

[Ckwop]

Why vacinate just the chickens? While it would have to mutate in order to pass between humans it seems plausible (to a laymen in this field) that a vacine that protects against bird-flu might also offer some protection against the mutent.

This break-through is just what we've needed: A fast way to make a lot of flu vaccines. The question now is, do we now have enough time to take a side swipe at bird-flu before it makes the transition to a human form? At any rate, even if it does make the transition, I do believe this would be the last major flu pandemic.

The next time people will not be so complacent. The billions the first-world nations have just pledged to fight Avian Flu will be pledged much more quickly. In fact, I think the UN will have a fund to tackle these kinds of nightmares and the money will be released immediately on discovery of a virus that is deadly to humans. Couple this with the fact we'll have better ways to sythentise vaccines. These new methods will hopefully deliver a suitable product on the order of days rather than months.

It makes sense for us to set-up such a fund. For a start, the economic loss caused by bird flu will run in to trillions. So let's do it! Whether you're black or white, Palestinian or Israeli, Christian or Muslim this virus effects us all equally. Surely, even the most hardened tax-cutting Republican in the universe will agree that it's sensible to stump up money for this fund.

Simon

Re:Virus Fund, let's do it.

[(negative video)]

Only 80 deaths. That is not statisticaly signifigant in any size population.

The significance is that the manner of death was wholly unexpected. Young, strong people virtually never die from sudden lung inflammation. Tuberculosis, yes. Bacterial pneumonia, yes. But their own immune system just suddenly deciding to burn their lungs to the ground? Never happens.

There are litteraly thousands of more deadly illnesses out there, currently active, and currently transmitible between humans.

True, but most of them are either difficult to transmit (HIV, hepatitis A, rabies), are virulent and have obvious symptoms so that quarantine can be effective (ebola), or produce lasting immunity (bacterial meningitis, cholera).

Influenza, however, combines most of the worst things into a single virus. It is an RNA virus, so it mutates rapidly. It has a tiny genome, providing a minimal target for the adaptive immune system. It spreads easily through the air, allowing less-ill carriers to spread it widely (the Tyhoid Mary effect). It starts out by pretending to be the common cold, so carriers ignore it and continue to expose the community. Very few disease organisms combine these factors, and most of those that do (measles, smallpox, diptheria) are mercifully vulnerable to vaccines.

Why should we spend billions on this one virus that has thus for only shown the potential for danger?

Because the potential is real and quantified, not blindy extrapolated from fears. Influenza does regularly sweep across the world, leaving death and destruction in its wake. It does regularly kill people even in wealthy countries. The 1918 pandemic did send millions of strong, healthy adults to their deaths.

Certain strains are right now killing strong, healthy adults. Certain other strains do right now have the molecular factors for extreme transmissibility. It is an absolute guarantee that those strains will fuse in a single infected person, producing a new strain that has both virulence and transmissibility. When that happens, we will have another 1918-style pandemic on our hands.

And unless we can rapidly turn-around production of a strong vaccine, that pandemic will strike down millions of us. On the basis of missed work days alone, it makes sense to pour billions of dollars into preventing a flu pandemic.

Re:yet another drug that will be overused

[exi1ed0ne]

In the dusty recesses of my memory, I seem to recall some experimentation where they sprayed benign bacteria on chickens. The theory goes that the competition for resources and the ample supply of non-harmful bacteria would reduce the sustainable population of harmful bacteria.

I find it interesting that being too clean of all bacteria can actually have harmful effects. We're really colony organisms after all. I wondered whatever happened with it?

1918 Flu was Bird Flu

[DigitalRaptor]

Recently researchers were able to recreate the 1918 flu that killed 100 million around the world, and what they found was a little alarming. The 1918 flu jumped directly from birds to humans and became transmissable between humans.

If the current bird flu manages that, there will be an 18 month siege on the economy the likes of which our generations have never seen as borders are shut down and vital supply chains are broken.

Hopefully this new advance offers some hope. Who knows if a pandemic will happen (well, one will happen without a doubt because they have on average every 30 years for the last 300, but we just don't know if this bird flu is the next one), it's just a roll of the dice everytime a human gets infected whether it will mutate.

Re:1918 Flu was Bird Flu

[vertinox]

If the current bird flu manages that, there will be an 18 month siege on the economy the likes of which our generations have never seen as borders are shut down and vital supply chains are broken.

It would also mean, computer technology, telecomutting, and communication via internet would be much more important than it is now. Possibly creating an internet only society to keep from getting each infected.

Although maybe not really desirable...

I wouldn't want to be the guy who has to go to people's houses in a clean suit to fix their connection.

Here's a dollar, buy a clue

[Engineer-Poet]

One wonders what you would have said about the Spanish flu which became pandemic and killed millions worldwide. Before it mutated to become highly transmissible and took off, it also only showed "the potential for danger". Afterward, of course, it moved far too fast for vaccination to stop it.

I'm almost afraid to ask what you think of the successful eradication of smallpox, or the efforts to finally get rid of polio (also a mere handful of deaths each year... due completely to our efforts to do the same to it as we did with smallpox).