U.Md. to test vaccine for bird flu

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U.Md. to test vaccine for bird flu

Karl B. Hille, The Examiner Dec 20, 2006 3:00 AM

BALTIMORE - The University of land School of Medicine will begin

testing its cell-based bird flu vaccine in January in preparation for

a possible flu pandemic in the near future.

Researchers expect the cell-based vaccine that uses whole virus

particles to provide immunity faster and more reliably than those

incubated in chicken eggs then broken into fragments, according to a

release from the university. This will be the first whole-virus

vaccine for bird flu tested in the United States.

" Your body responds better by seeing things in their natural form, "

said Dr. , an assistant professor of pediatrics and

principal investigator on the study. " Any additional immune response

you can get for a pandemic flu would be good. You've got higher stakes. "

Seasonal flu vaccines are prepared using viral particles broken into

fragments using a detergent, he said, because they have been shown to

produce lower side effects.

Nationally, health researchers and agencies are gearing up for a

potential flu pandemic, like the one that killed thousands in 1918.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $11.4 million

to companies working on tests that can identify avian flu within

minutes in a doctor's office. MesoScale, in Gaithersburg, received

more than $700,000 of that money.

A prime suspect for a pandemic, bird flu has infected more than 250

people in 10 countries since 2003, resulting in more than 150 deaths,

according to the CDC. So far, highly contagious and person-to-person

transmission needed for a pandemic is missing. Although health

officials say they can't be certain the H5N1 bird flu virus will be

the next pandemic, developing faster tests and faster means of

mass-producing vaccines may be the best way to respond to a deadly

outbreak.

" The information that we gain from these trials will be invaluable for

the pandemic flu, " said.

Volunteers needed

The Center for Vaccine Development at the University of land

School of Medicine is seeking 50 to 100 healthy volunteers age 18 to

40 years old to test a bird flu vaccine. The eight-month trial is

funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of

the National Institutes of Health. Volunteers face a medical

screening, several blood samples and two shots, and will be randomly

assigned to groups receiving the cell culture-based H5N1 vaccine, or a

placebo. Compensation will be provided. For more information or to

register, call 410-706-6156.

http://www.examiner.com/a-466515~U_Md__to_test_vaccine_for_bird_flu.html